Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Software

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding their Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Integrated Care Boards

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of integrated care boards in financial year 2022-23.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Integrated Care Boards

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS England on the adequacy of integrated care board performance reports.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Nurses: Training

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many training places for nursing students there were in England in the 2023-24 financial year; and how many places there will be in the (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26 financial year.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that integrated care boards provide aftercare to eligible patients as set out in section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Maria Caulfield: Monitoring integrated care boards is a matter for NHS England, in line with the NHS System Oversight Framework. With regard to the provision of aftercare as set out in section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the NHS England Who Pays? guide, and the Mental Health Act Code of Practice, set out the framework for establishing which National Health Service commissioner will be responsible for commissioning and paying for an individual’s NHS care.The recently published statutory guidance on Discharge from mental health inpatient settings includes national guidance on how budgets and responsibilities should be shared to pay for section 117 aftercare. In accordance with this guidance document, all local social service authorities and NHS commissioning organisations must share a responsibility for making section 117 funding decisions for people entitled to aftercare, within a robust quality assurance framework. This should demonstrate effective transparency and accountability when delivering this joint duty and avoid the risk of duplication, delayed transitions, inefficiency, and poor experience of the person in receipt of the care and support. The guidance is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings/discharge-from-mental-health-inpatient-settings#annex-b-national-guidance-on-how-budgets-and-responsibilities-should-be-shared-to-pay-for-section-117-aftercare-mental-health-act-1983

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to meet with (a) patient groups and (b) campaigners representing people affected by sodium valproate harm in pregnancy.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. As part of this work the Government asked the PSC to seek views from those affected about what redress would be appropriate. The PSC has engaged with patients and patient groups in preparing her report.We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.

Hospital Beds

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of changes in assumed bed occupancy levels on the (a) number of hospital beds and (b) cost of the New Hospitals Programme.

Andrew Stephenson: The New Hospital Programme (NHP) is currently working towards a 92% bed occupancy assumption for schemes that use our standardised approach to building new hospitals, Hospital 2.0.The NHP is working jointly with all National Health Service trusts in the programme to develop and design the right sized hospitals based on robust assumptions appropriate for local population’s health needs and clinical strategies, including the number of beds.In May 2023, it was announced that the NHP is expected to be backed by over £20 billion of investment, enabling the programme to provide indicative funding allocations for schemes.

Medicine: Higher Education

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the maximum capacity in medical schools for students for 2024/25.

Andrew Stephenson: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) published by NHS England on 30 June 2023 sets out the aim of doubling the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.In October 2023, the Office for Students (OfS) was asked by myself and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education to increase the number of home student places for the 2024/25 academic year by 205. This accelerated delivery of the LTWP.The OfS was asked to engage with the Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care, as well as NHS England and the General Medical Council, as it made decisions about how to allocate the funding for these places.This process included consideration of the capacity of medical schools to take additional students in 2024/25. We are in the final stage of allocating 350 additional medical schools places for the 2025/26 academic year. We will set out plans for future years in due course.

Ophthalmic Services

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, What estimate she has made of the number and proportion of patients that waited longer than (a) one, (b) three and (c) six months between an optometry test and diagnosis.

Andrea Leadsom: During 2022/23 there were 560,340 referrals from an optometrist to a first outpatient appointment with an ophthalmology consultant. It is not possible from the data captured to identify the point at which a diagnosis is made following a referral.We recognise that there will be patients currently being referred into secondary care unnecessarily, this is why NHS England’s transformation programme is looking at how more patients can be assessed, triaged and managed in the community, freeing up capacity for those that need face to face specialist care in hospital eye services.

Eyesight: Testing

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of sight tests that were carried out by the NHS in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The NHS Business Services Authority has published data on the numbers of National Health Service sight tests undertaken between 2020/21 and 2022/23. This data is available at the following link:https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/ophthalmic-data/general-ophthalmic-services-gos-activity-dataWe are aware there is an error in the data published for 2022/23, and this is in the process of being corrected. We expect revised data to be available shortly. NHS Digital has published data on the number of NHS sight tests undertaken before 2020. This data is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-ophthalmic-services-activity-statistics/england-year-ending-31-march-2020

Health: Social Rented Housing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) mould and (b) damp on the long-term health of social housing tenants.

Andrea Leadsom: In September 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care, jointly with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the UK Health Security Agency, published Understanding and addressing the health risks of damp and mould in the home, which is available on GOV.UK website. This guidance sets out the health risks of damp and mould, and the steps social and private landlords should take to address these issues.The guidance indicates that damp and mould in the home may present a significant health risk to social housing tenants and can contribute to the development and worsening of respiratory conditions. Damp and mould can also affect the eyes and skin and contribute to fungal infections, especially in people with weakened immune systems.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Lists

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting lists for echocardiograms.

Andrew Stephenson: Cutting National Health Service waiting lists, including for echocardiography, is one of the Government’s top priorities. £2.3 billion was awarded at the Spending Review 2021 to transform diagnostic services over the next three years. Most of this will help increase the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) up to 160 by March 2025, expanding and protecting elective planned diagnostic services.As of February 2024, there are 154 CDCs currently operational that have delivered over six million additional tests since July 2021, including large, standard and hub models. 69 of these CDCs are currently providing transthoracic echocardiograms, with 121 CDCs planning to do so by March 2025. NHS England is working to ensure all standard model CDCs include access to a range of cardiac and respiratory tests. As of December 2023, 7,750 echocardiography tests were carried out at CDCs. NHS England is working to expand the echocardiography diagnostics workforce. Investment has been made in the training of cardiac and respiratory scientists, including significantly increasing the training supply of echocardiographers. An Echocardiography Training Programme has also been developed in collaboration with the British Society of Echocardiography. In the last two years, 130 individuals started on this programme, and it will continue to be used to increase numbers of accredited echocardiographers.Additionally, NHS England has published guidance on the development of the Physiological Science Networks, including for echocardiography, to support the local coordination and transformation of physiological science services. This guidance provides integrated care boards with improvement approaches to address waiting times in physiological science services.

NHS England: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff in NHS England have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Andrew Stephenson: In NHS England, there are 51 staff who have equality, diversity, inclusion, gender, LGBT and race in their job titles. This covers a wide range of roles both supporting NHS England as an employer, and facing the wider National Health Service system.

Vertex

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish the minutes of her meetings with Vertex since November 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: No meetings have taken place between Vertex and Department ministers within this timeframe.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to take steps to ensure that every person with diabetes has access to medical technology that helps them manage their condition.

Andrew Stephenson: Standard care for type 1 diabetes involves regularly measuring blood glucose levels by self-monitoring, blood testing, or by using a continuous glucose monitor, real-time or intermittently scanned.The NHS Long Term Plan committed that 20% of people with type 1 diabetes would benefit from life changing flash glucose monitors. Data to quarter three of 2022/23 shows that 73% of people with type 1 diabetes were prescribed flash glucose monitoring, against the 20% target.In March 2023 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that insulin dependent patients with type 2 diabetes should also benefit from flash or continuous glucose monitoring devices. We are now starting to see a growth in prescribing within the type 2 diabetes patient group.On 19 December 2023 the NICE published its final recommendation on the hybrid closed loop system. The NICE has agreed with NHS England that all children and young people, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, and those people who already have an insulin pump will be the first to be offered a hybrid closed loop system, as part of a five-year roll-out plan. Access to hybrid closed loop systems will be through a five-year phased roll out, in line with NHS England’s implementation plans.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on how many people not legally resident in the UK were charged for healthcare in (a) NHS hospitals and (b) doctors surgeries in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department does not collect or hold the requested information.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Admissions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 13332, if she will publish the correspondence sent from NHS England to systems and trusts on 25 January on improving A&E performance.

Helen Whately: NHS England has published the correspondence to integrated care systems and trusts. The letters are available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/76-four-hour-standard-regional-letters/

Gynaecology: Waiting Lists

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of waiting times for gynaecological care and treatment in (a) the North East and (b) England as of 21 February 2023.

Andrew Stephenson: The Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care outlines how the National Health Service will bring down waiting times across all elective services. The plan does not prioritise specialties, but the NHS continues to focus on reducing the longest waits, providing high levels of support and scrutiny, targeted at the trusts which have the highest number of patients waiting the longest for elective treatment.To support this plan and tackle waiting lists, including those in gynaecology, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to drive up and protect elective activity. We are also increasing capacity, including for gynaecological surgery, through our surgical hubs, delivered by the Getting It Right First Time ‘High Volume Low Complexity’ programme.

Members: Correspondence

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care when she plans to respond to the letter of 16 October 2023 from Sling the Mesh, Health Sense, Transparimed and others on her Department's consultation on the disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector.

Andrew Stephenson: A response for this correspondence was issued on 28 February 2024.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 26 October 2023 to Question 203897 on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Drugs, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure an adequate supply of (a) methylphenidate, (b) lisdexamfetamine and (c) guanfacine.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department has been working with manufacturers of medicines used for the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to ensure that action is taken to address the supply issues as quickly as possible. As a result of our continued work with the pharmaceutical industry, some issues have now been resolved, including with guanfacine. However, we know that there continue to be disruptions to the supply of some other medicines, including methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine. We have been informed that these should be largely resolved by April or May 2024.We understand how frustrating and distressing medicine shortages can be. While we cannot always prevent supply issues from occurring, the Department has a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and help mitigate risks to patients. We work with the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, the devolved administrations, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when supply issues arise.

General Practitioners: Standards

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains her Department's policy that GP appointments should be available within two weeks; and what her planned timetable is for meeting that target.

Andrea Leadsom: We have set an expectation that where clinically appropriate, patients should receive an appointment within two weeks of requesting one, or on the same day if their need is urgent. The general practice contract requires practices to offer patients an assessment of need, or signpost them to an appropriate service, on the day they contact the practice, so that patients are not asked to call back another day.We are committed to making it quicker and easier for people to get the help they need from primary care. That is why we published our Primary Care Recovery Plan. We are providing £240 million of funding, an average of £60,000 per practice, so that practices can transition to digital telephone systems and consultation tools which will help patients to get support more quickly.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it remains his Department's policy to increase the total sum of money eligible per person via the disabled facilities grant.

Helen Whately: Local areas already have the discretion to make grants above the current upper limit on a case-by-case basis, or in line with a locally published housing assistance policy. As with all aspects of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), the Government will continue to keep the upper limit under review.The Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care plan announced a further £102 million for housing adaptation support, £50 million in 2023/24 and £52 million in 2024/25. This is in addition to the £573 million per year which is already available for the DFG. The increase will enable local areas to fund minor home adaptations and other supplementary services that will help people stay independent, and support hospital discharge.

Hysterectomy: Waiting Lists

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for a hysterectomy in (a) County Durham and (b) England.

Andrew Stephenson: The Delivery Plan for Tackling the COVID-19 Backlog of Elective Care outlines how the National Health Service will bring down waiting times across all elective services. The plan does not prioritise specialties or certain interventions, but the NHS continues to focus on reducing the longest waiting times and providing high levels of support and scrutiny, targeted at the trusts which have the highest number of patients waiting the longest time, for elective treatment.To support this plan and tackle waiting lists, including those in gynaecology, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to drive up and protect elective activity. We are also increasing capacity, including for gynaecological surgery, through our surgical hubs, delivered by the Getting It Right First Time’s High Volume Low Complexity programme.

Knee Replacements: Hospitals

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 12699 on Knee Replacements: Out-patients, what the average number of days was that patients stayed in hospital following knee replacement operations in 2022-23.

Andrew Stephenson: Based on the latest data available from Hospital Episode Statistics, the median length of stay for finished consultant episodes where a knee replacement was the main procedure, was two days.

Health Services: Postal Services

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the cost to the NHS caused by Royal Mail (a) delays and (b) failures to deliver appointment letters.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England sends communications and invitations to patients using a digital first approach, for environmental reasons and to efficiently reduce costs. If an individual has provided a mobile phone number and email address through their general practice, NHS England will, in the first instance, send most invitations for appointments via mobile phone text and email.Letters are typically sent to patients when NHS England does not have alternative contact details on record, such as a phone number or email address. This ensures all patients receive notification of an appointment, including elderly and other vulnerable patients, where a digital first approach may not be possible or appropriate. Letters may also be sent occasionally as reminders.

Cystic Fibrosis: Medical Treatments

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of NICE beginning a new phase of commercial negotiations in its multiple technology appraisal for treating cystic fibrosis.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the new phase of NICE commercial negotiations in its multiple technology appraisal for treating cystic fibrosis; and when she expects the final guidance to be published.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her expected timeline is for publishing new NICE guidance on cystic fibrosis treatment.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of NICE's commercial negotiations with Vertex on NHS contracts.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 7053 on Elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor, what her Department's expected timetable is for when NICE will publish its final guidance on the use of ivacaftor–tezacaftor–elexacaftor for treating cystic fibrosis.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government wants National Health Service patients to benefit from effective treatments, in a way that represents value, and is fair to all parties. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NICE develops its recommendations independently based on an assessment of the available evidence, and through engagement with interested parties. The NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on whether the disease modifying treatments Symkevi, Orkambi, and Kaftrio, which contains elexacaftor, tezacaftor and ivacaftor, should be routinely funded by the NHS. Following a recent consultation on its draft recommendations, the NICE has now reached a point in the process where it can pause guidance development to allow further commercial negotiations between NHS England and the company. An update on the anticipated date for the publication of final guidance will be provided by the NICE once timelines are confirmed. NHS England has been able to reach commercial agreements with many companies for medicines being evaluated by the NICE, that have enabled the NICE to recommend them for NHS use.

HIV Infection: Care Homes

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken recent steps to (a) raise awareness of HIV among those living in care and (b) provide support for those living with HIV and in care.

Andrea Leadsom: The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach in England, to drive forward progress and achieve our goal to end new HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including those living in care.As set out in the NHS England Roadmap, adult specialised HIV inpatient and outpatient services have been identified by NHS England as key areas for greater integrated care systems leadership and integrated care boards (ICBs). Integrating the commissioning of HIV treatment services with ICBs will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health services, for a more holistic approach to care including links with social services.

HIV Infection: Mental Illness

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to reduce levels of mental health conditions of people living with HIV.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living with HIV, which includes providing support for mental health conditions. As set out in the NHS England Roadmap, specialised HIV inpatient and outpatient services have been identified as key areas for greater integrated care systems leadership by NHS England and integrated care boards (ICBs). This will allow local systems to simplify and strengthen HIV care pathways with other services through effective local partnerships, including psychosocial support and mental health and counselling services, for a more holistic approach to care. NHS England has now approved plans to fully delegate the commissioning of appropriate specialised services, including specialised HIV services, to ICBs in the East, the Midlands and the North West regions of England from April 2024. NHS England will also continue to jointly commission appropriate specialised services with ICBs, including specialised HIV services, in the South West, South East, London and the North East and Yorkshire regions of England for a further year. This will help support a smooth transition of commissioning responsibility by April 2025. The national service specification sets out the requirement for agreeing pathways which define responsibility for meeting the non-HIV needs of patients and identify shared care, including clinical psychology and psychological support services. The NHS Talking Therapies Programme has also developed an e-learning module for Talking Therapies staff on HIV, which is available at the following link: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/breaking-barriers-in-hiv-care/ This will enable therapists to support people with anxiety and depression related to the experience of having HIV. As per the NHS Talking Therapies Pathway for People with Long-term Physical Health Conditions and Medically Unexplained Symptoms, from 2018/19 all NHS Talking Therapies services were commissioned to establish pathways for people living with long-term physical health conditions, as a key mechanism to ensure the delivery of increased access to psychological therapies.

Welding: Carcinogens

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has provided additional training to GPs on (a) identifying and (b) diagnosing to cancers caused by welding fumes in the period since the categorisation of welding fume as a human carcinogen by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.

Andrea Leadsom: General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on cancer, remains up-to-date, and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. In 2012 the GMC introduced revalidation which supports doctors in regularly reflecting on how they can develop or improve their practice, giving patients confidence doctors are up to date with their practice, and promoting improved quality of care by driving improvements in clinical governance. The training curricula for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners, and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council.

General Practitioners: Oldham

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many registered full time equivalent GPs serve the borough of Oldham in the latest period for which that data is available; and how many patients have been registered with surgeries in the borough of Oldham in each year from 2010.

Andrea Leadsom: In January 2024, the most recent month for which data is available, the borough of Oldham had 134.6 full time equivalent doctors in general practice (GP). The following table shows the number of GP registered patients in the borough of Oldham at the start of each year from 2014 to 2024, as the data is only available from 2014:DatePatients registered with a GP1 January 2014231,7841 January 2015234,0211 January 2016237,4041 January 2017240,2451 January 2018242,8361 January 2019245,7641 January 2020248,1531 January 2021248,5331 January 2022250,0481 January 2023251,9311 January 2024255,526Source: The data is taken from NHS Digital, and is available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/patients-registered-at-a-gp-practice#about-this-publicationNote: Practices in Oldham were identified using the February 2024 release of the National Statistics Postcode Lookup and their postcode in the registered patient dataset from the time of publishing.

Sepsis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of incidences of sepsis in the last five years.

Maria Caulfield: The Department and NHS England do not hold information centrally on the incidences of sepsis, and have made no assessment of the trends. There is a lack of reliable estimates of the incidence and prevalence of sepsis due to a lack of consistency in the definitions used to describe sepsis, and differences in coding between professionals and organisations. Despite this, the focus on sepsis in recent years means there is now much better awareness and improved clinical recognition of sepsis symptoms.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does publish data on the number of death registrations where sepsis is mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales between 2001 and 2022, as the data for 2023 has yet to be published. The following table shows the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate in England and Wales in each of the last five years:YearNumber of Deaths201823,185201921,458202019,324202121,947202225,542 The Department works with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to monitor sepsis death data. It is difficult to attribute the increase in the number of deaths registered where sepsis was mentioned anywhere on the death certificate from 2020 to 2022 to a single cause, as the incidences of infection and reasons for acute deterioration are complex and multifactorial. It is also possible that the increase reflects a greater awareness of sepsis and improved coding and recording of deaths due to sepsis.

Suicide: Men

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle male suicide.

Maria Caulfield: The Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, published on 11 September 2023, is a cross-Government strategy with over 100 actions that we believe will reduce the suicide rate within five years, with initial reductions observed within two and a half years. We have identified middle-aged men as a priority group within the strategy, and many of the actions will support suicide prevention in men by addressing the common risk factors for this group, such as a history of drug or alcohol misuse, family or relationships problems, and social isolation and loneliness. We have worked across departments to develop this strategy and will continue to do so, in order to deliver the actions within it.In addition, on 23 August 2023 we launched a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund to support voluntary community and social enterprise organisations in England in meeting the demand for their services to support people experiencing suicidal thoughts, or approaching a mental health crisis. Applications were encouraged from charities to support middle-aged men and other groups of concern. The fund will run to March 2025, and we expect to start making this funding available to successful applicants very soon.

Mental Health: Diagnosis

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce diagnosis times of Complex Trauma Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the support provided to people with Complex Trauma Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Maria Caulfield: Integrated Care Boards have a statutory responsibility to commission healthcare and develop strategic clinical plans, covering a wide range of health care services, based on the needs of their local population.Nationally, we are investing to increase access and improve the quality of mental health services. Thanks to this investment, since 2018/19 there has been an 11% increase in the number of adults accessing NHS Talking Therapies. We are set to reach nearly £1 billon of investment by 2023/2024, to transform community mental health services, the largest area of investment within the Long Term Plan for mental health, so that more people can be supported with the care that is most appropriate for their needs and that is integrated between primary and community mental health services.This includes new integrated community models, offering improved access to NHS Talking Therapies, improved physical health care, employment support, personalised and trauma informed care, medicines management and support for self-harm.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Veterans

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle levels of PTSD among veterans.

Maria Caulfield: Health is a devolved matter across the United Kingdom, and it is for the devolved administrations to determine what support is made available in their respective jurisdictions.NHS England have commissioned Op COURAGE, which is the veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service providing a comprehensive mental health treatment pathway to respond to veterans’ needs. The Government has increased investment in this area with a planned spend of £23.5 million in 2023/24. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans. A campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE launched on 9 January 2024. In the Autumn Statement in 2023, the Government announced an additional £10 million to support the Veterans’ Places, People and Pathways Programme to increase support to a significant community of vulnerable veterans throughout the UK, and enable it to become self-sustaining.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Arms Trade

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the statement by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled Arms exports to Israel must stop immediately: UN experts, published on 23 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of this statement. The Government operates a robust and thorough assessment of licence applications against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria and we will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with that Criteria, including where there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.We are monitoring the situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories very closely. All our export licences are kept under careful review and we are able to amend, suspend or revoke extant licences, as well as refuse new licence applications if they are found to be inconsistent with the Criteria.

Israel: Occupied Territories

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the advisory proceedings on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem at the International Court of Justice.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government supports a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. The UK voted against the United Nations General Assembly resolution because we did not believe that a request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an Advisory Opinion constituted the appropriate mechanism to bring the parties back to dialogue. It is also the position of the UK that it is inappropriate, without the consent of both parties, for the Court to deliver an Advisory Opinion in what is essentially a bilateral dispute. Our written and oral statements to the Court reflect this position. The UK is clear, however, that we respect the role and independence of the ICJ. We will consider any Advisory Opinion if and when it is issued by the ICJ.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had representatives of (a) the Democratic Republic of Congo, (b) MONUSCO, (c) the Southern African Development Community and (d) Rwanda on the (i) threat posed to the city of Goma by the M23 armed group, (ii) security of UK personnel and nationals in Goma and (iii) security of UN and other international personnel in Goma.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is concerned by the further escalation of fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its appalling humanitarian consequences. We regularly raise the threat posed by M23 and other armed groups with the governments of DRC and Rwanda. We urge all parties to deliver on their commitments, agreed through the Nairobi and Luanda regional peace processes. This includes the cessation of hostilities, respect for sovereignty and agreed withdrawal by armed groups, including M23. We remain alert to the evolving security situation in eastern DRC and the safety of British nationals and UK personnel remains the FCDO's top priority.

Shell: Nigeria

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with Shell on (a) tackling oil pollution in the Niger Delta and (b) the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights following that company's divestment from its onshore oil operations in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government has consistently supported the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and is clear that we expect UK businesses to comply with all applicable laws; identify and prevent human rights risks; and behave in line with the UNGPs. The UK Government regularly discusses with Shell the importance of action to address the risks of pollution from oil production in the Niger Delta. We continue to support initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of oil and gas production in Nigeria, including encouraging the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project to meet the needs of the communities affected by pollution.

Nigeria: Christianity

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2024 to Question 13244 on Nigeria: Christianity, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) Benin and (b) Cameroon on the situation in Nigeria.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Whilst I have not recently discussed rising insecurity in Nigeria with my counterparts in Benin and Cameroon, the UK Government remains committed to supporting Nigeria to address these challenges, including through our UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Partnership, and continues to engage with a range of stakeholders to address these complex issues.

Developing Countries: Debts Written Off

Martyn Day: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Answer of 13 June 2023 to Question 186930 on Developing Countries: Debts Written Off, what progress his Department has made on introducing debt relief measures for developing countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has provided over £2 billion in debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative and continues to provide roughly £190 million a year to compensate the Multilateral Development Banks for forgone debt repayments. In response to the COVID pandemic, the UK supported the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and suspended UK debt repayment from April 2020 to December 2021. Collectively $12.9 billion of repayments were suspended from almost 50 countries. Additionally, the UK provided £150 million towards IMF debt repayment relief through the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.The UK plays a leadership role in international discussions on developing country debt which we monitor closely with His Majesties Treasury. As set out in the White Paper on International Development, published last November - through our membership of the Paris Club, G20, and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable we are pushing for improvements to the global debt architecture and using our position in official creditor committees to help return countries to debt sustainability where necessary.The UK is also leading contractual debt innovations, notably Climate Resilient Debt Clauses (CRDCs) that pause debt repayments when a natural disaster hits. UK Export Finance (UKEF) was the first export credit agency globally to offer these, and the Government is pressing for all creditors to offer these in loans - most recently co-hosting a workshop on CRDCs at COP28 and securing several Multilateral Development Banks and other countries to offer these.

Elizabeth Tsurkov

Sarah Champion: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Ms Elizabeth Tsurkov who was kidnapped in Iraq in March 2023.

David Rutley: The UK is concerned over the kidnapping of Israeli-Russian dual national Elizabeth Tsurkov. The Government of Iraq opened an investigation into her kidnapping last year and we await the findings. Those suspected of criminal responsibility for her kidnapping should be brought to justice in fair trials. However, as Elizabeth Tsurkov is not a British citizen, we are not in a position to offer direct consular assistance.

Manahel al-Otaibi

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Saudi Arabia on (a) the prosecution of Manahel al-Otaibi in the Specialised Criminal Court and (b) reports (i) relating to her treatment while in detention and (ii) that she has not been allowed contact with her family since November 2023.

David Rutley: We have raised the continued detention of individuals for expressing their political views, including women and women's rights defenders, with the Saudi government. The FCDO is closely monitoring the case of Manahel al-Otaibi. Saudi Arabia remains an FCDO human rights priority country, in part due to continued restrictions on freedom of expression. The British Embassy in Riyadh will continue to attempt to attend trials where possible.

Chelsea Football Club: Sales

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the delivery of £2.5 billion from the sale of Chelsea Football Club.

Leo Docherty: The proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC are currently frozen in a UK bank account while independent experts establish a foundation to manage and distribute the money. A licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation will then be needed to move the funds to the foundation. We want this money to reach Ukraine as quickly as possible and remain open to any arrangement that clearly delivers this.

Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Mike Freer: The MoJ customises its working conditions and processes to meet the needs and capabilities of all its staff. These include, but are not limited to, the physical layout and structure of the workplace, adjustable desks and chairs, providing equipment that is ergonomically designed, easy to use, and suitable for the tasks that workers need to perform, allowing flexibility in work schedules and reducing monotonous tasks, and ensuring that workers are not required to work at an excessively fast pace.

Prison Officers: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were charged under the (a) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and (b) Prisons Act 1952 for smuggling drugs into prison in each year since 2018.

Edward Argar: The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity which is often as a result of conditioning and manipulation by prisoners.HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has a zero-tolerance policy on corruption and takes appropriate action to the small number of staff and prisoners who break the rules. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons including reducing the number of staff being manipulated and conditioned by prisoners, is ongoing. This includes increased resource to pursue corruption, as well as established a new ‘Prevent’ function, aimed at building staff resilience against corruption.a) The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is not a charge associated to offences pursed by the Counter Corruption Unit, which tackles the corruption linked to HMPPS staff and prisoners.b) The Counter Corruption Unit dataset is specific to charges within the act, notably conveyance. To provide the requested data it would be a disproportionate cost to check individual records to provide an answer to this question.

Prisons: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) prison officers and (b) other prison staff who have been (i) investigated, (ii) arrested and (iii) charged in relation to the supply of drugs in prisons in (A) 2018, (B) 2019, (C) 2020, (D) 2021, (E) 2022 and (F) 2023.

Edward Argar: The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity which is often as a result of conditioning and manipulation by prisoners. HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has a zero-tolerance policy on staff who convey drugs into prisons, and take appropriate action to a small number of prison staff who break the rules. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the number of staff being manipulated and conditioned by prisoners, is ongoing. This includes increased resource to pursue corruption, as well as established a new ‘Prevent’ function, aimed at building staff resilience against corruption. The increased numbers detailed in the tables below may reflect this increased investment in monitoring and reporting of drug conveyance and corruption, as well as increasing staff numbers across the prison estate. Prior to April 2019, corruption in HMPPS was managed by the Corruption Prevention Unit (CPU). The CPU was a largely centralised unit focused on sanitising and disseminating all corruption related intelligence to the Police, with an individual Regional Corruption Prevention Manager (RCPM) in each geographical region offering advice and support to prisons in managing corruption, hence data prior to April 2019 is not available.  a) Below is a table showing the breakdown of Prison Officers and Prison staff who have been investigated in relation to the supply of drugs in prison between Dec 2020 to Dec 2023.Table 1Operations Opened Prison OfficerNon-Prisoner Officer2020268449202142472820224657422023435720Source: Linkspace Case Management System. b) Below is a table showing the breakdown of total Prison Officers and Prison staff who have been Arrested in relation to the supply of drugs in prison between Dec 2020 to Dec 2023.Conveyance Arrests Total Total - Prison Officer and Non-Prison Officer202034202143202237202347Source: Linkspace Case Management System.Note: numbers for arrests cannot be separated by job, so are grouped for prison officers and non-prison officers. c) Below is a table showing the breakdown of conveyance charges between Dec 2020 to Dec 2023.Conveyance Charges Prison OfficerNon-Prison Officer20201022202125392022163020232036Source: Linkspace Case Management System.

Prison Officers: Incentives

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons offer bonuses for detached duty volunteers; and how many officers have been paid bonuses in each prison in the last 12 months.

Edward Argar: The following prisons currently attract a bonus for National Detached Duty volunteers;HMP Bedford, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Bristol, HMP Cookham Wood, HMP Long Lartin, HMP Lowdham Grange, HMP Onley, HMP Stocken, HMP Swaleside, HMP Wayland, HMP Whitemoor, HMP Woodhill.In the 12 months to 27 February 2024, 1146 bonus payments were made to prison officers at Bands 3-5 for national detached duty. Some staff have completed more than one detached duty deployment and separate bonuses are paid for each deployment. Detached duty deployments range from two to twelve weeks.It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to collate the information needed to calculate how many individuals in each prison received bonus payments during the period.We have committed to recruiting up to 5,000 additional prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s.There has been a fall in the resignation rate among Band 3-5 officers of 2.4 percentage points in the year to 30 December 2023 compared to the previous year.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illicit mobile phones were found in prisons in (a) England and (b) Wales in each year since 2019.

Edward Argar: Mobile phones are a key enabler for prisoners to engage in criminality which impacts into both prisons and the community including drug supply, violence and harassment of victims and witnesses. MoJ’s £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the smuggling of illicit items such as mobile phones, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the smuggling of mobile phones and other contraband into prisons. The number of mobile phones found in prisons in England and Wales is published in the HMPPS Annual Digest through the Finds in Prison Tables: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143b41e10bf000e17cf9e/8.__Finds.ods. Table 8.3 provides the number of mobile phones found per prison in England and Wales. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data has been drawn from large scale administrative systems, and as such is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prison Officers: Wandsworth Prison

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid to prison officers at HMP Wandsworth as Payment Plus in each year since 1 January 2020.

Edward Argar: “Payment Plus” is a form of overtime, used to cover any vacancies and ensure that the minimum staffing level required by the Regime Management Plan is met, and that a safe and decent regime can be delivered. HMP Wandsworth is being provided with continuing support through local detached duty staff and allocated “Payment Plus” hours. The prison regularly reviews the level of regime it is able safely to deliver and will continue to receive support as required. The money spent on “Payment Plus” at HMP Wandsworth since 1 January 2020 is provided in the table below:PeriodPayment Plus (£)11 Jan 2020 – 31 Mar 2020330,9171 Apr 2020 – 31 Mar 2021975,8181 Apr 2021 – 31 Mar 2022860,9601 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 20231,261,4561 Apr 2023 – 31 Jan 20241,209,806 1These are provisional figures, which may include work at other establishments by staff based at HMP Wandsworth. We have committed to recruiting up to 5,000 additional prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s. There has been a fall in the resignation rate among Band 3-5 officers, of 2.4 percentage points in the year up to 30 December 2023 compared to the previous year.

Prison Officers: Training

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours of compulsory corruption prevention training are undertaken by new prison officers during their basic training.

Edward Argar: All newly recruited prison officers receive a total of 8 hours of counter corruption training during their initial foundation training. All HMPPS staff have access to an online e-learning platform called MyLearning. This platform enables staff to continue their professional development journey and offers additional learning which includes Basic Security Awareness and Counter Fraud, Bribery & Corruption. The Civil Service Expectations training package is also included on this platform which covers corruption, and is required learning for all HMPPS employees. HMPPS have introduced a security investment programme that supports and strengthens staff resilience to corruption and provides ongoing awareness training for all staff

Probate

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of when the processing time of probate applications will be reduced to less than 16 weeks.

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the time taken to process (a) online and (b) paper probate applications.

Mike Freer: HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during July to September 2023. During the same period the average mean length of time take for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required is (a) 10.1 weeks digital and (b) 21.8 weeks paper. The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.HMCTS has increased staffing levels, streamlined internal processes and continued to invest in further improving the digital service. As a result, the number of grants issued for recent months has been at record levels, with over 15,500 more grants issued than applications received during the last four months (September to December) using more recent management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly).Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to September 2023.

Offenders: Domestic Abuse

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) people whose alleged offending results from experience of domestic abuse have access to an effective defence and (b) the Victims' Code includes provision to ensure that those people are treated proportionately by the criminal justice system.

Laura Farris: The Government and the law recognises that some offenders may commit offences as a direct result of being subjected to domestic abuse. There is a need to strike a balance between recognising the impact of abuse whilst ensuring that people do not revert to criminal behaviour. The law already provides for a number of general defences, both full defences such as self-defence, and partial defences such as of “loss of control” or “diminished responsibility”. We have, however, asked the Law Commission to conduct a review of defences specifically to homicide where the offender was a victim of domestic abuse. The Victims’ Code sets out the services that all victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse, are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies at the different stages of the criminal justice process. This includes receiving information about the case, participating appropriately in the criminal justice process and accessing support services. However investigation or charging decisions are operational decisions for the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

Domestic Abuse: Family Proceedings

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) barristers, (b) solicitors and (c) CILEX practitioners have registered for work under the Cross Examination Prohibition Scheme in each of the last 12 months.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) barristers, (b) solicitors and (c) CILEX practitioners have (i) applied for and (ii) completed training to become a qualified legal representative under the Cross Examination Prohibition Scheme since July 2022; and whether he has made an estimate of the number these individuals that have presented cases under the scheme.

Laura Farris: We have assumed that both questions refer to the Qualified Legal Representative (QLR) scheme which was introduced in July 2022 and follows the Government’s Domestic Abuse Act (2021) which prohibited unrepresented perpetrators or alleged perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims or alleged victims in family and civil proceedings, and vice versa. The prohibition ensures that vulnerable victims and witnesses are not traumatised by being cross-examined directly by their alleged perpetrator. Barristers, solicitors, and CILEX practitioners can register to undertake work as part of the QLR scheme at GOV.UK: Register to be a qualified legal representative (justice.gov.uk). The statutory guidance sets out the requirement for QLRs to have undertaken advocacy and vulnerable witness training, or to have made a commitment to attend such training within six months of having registered on the court list of qualified legal representatives: Statutory Guidance for the Qualified Legal Representative Scheme. The Government encourages professionals to take up this important work to assist in both the family and civil courts. As of 27 February 2024, in total, there were 363 QLRs registered for family cases, and 78 QLRs registered for civil cases. We do not hold monthly data on registrations, or central data on how many QLRs have completed or applied for training, which they are able to access from a range of external providers. The QLR register does not record whether practitioners are barristers, solicitors, or CILEX practitioners. We do not collect data on the number of QLRs that have presented cases under the scheme.

Television Licences: Non-payment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for non-payment of TV licence fees in each of the last five years.

Gareth Bacon: The Ministry of Justice holds information on prosecutions for non-payment of TV licence fees, covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.In the data tool, navigate to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab. In the ‘Offence’ filter, select ‘191A Television licence evasion’.The pivot table will now present the number of prosecutions at all courts from year ending June 2011, including the requested last five years, from year ending June 2019 to year ending June 2023.

Prison Officers: Youth Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2024 to Question 13404 on Prison Officers: Youth Custody, what his planned timetable is for completing the development of the bespoke training for staff working with girls in Young Offender Institution and Secure Training Centre sectors.

Edward Argar: The Youth Custody Service (YCS) recognises that staff need additional training and support to work effectively with girls in custody. YCS Psychology Services conducted a staff training and development needs analysis which identified various gaps and made associated recommendations. As a result, a programme of additional training for working with girls in custody has been developed which incorporates various modules to meet the identified learning gaps.Reflecting our commitment to integrated care set out in the YCS and NHS England Framework for Integrated Care (‘SECURE STAIRS’), delivery of the programme is cross-departmental and involves a number of agencies. Implementation has commenced, and the programme will remain in place to ensure the continuous upskilling of new staff. The training needs analysis will be continuously reviewed and updated as this programme proceeds, to ensure any emerging needs are addressed.

Secure Training Centres and Young Offender Institutions: Safety

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13379, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount safeguarding referrals issued within the Youth Secure Estate for people aged 18 or over.

Edward Argar: When a safeguarding case is opened, the detail of the case may not be known. We conduct a thorough investigation of every case to understand the details, and the severity of the concern, and ensure that any necessary actions are taken to protect the children in our custody. Not all referrals result in further action, and an increase in safeguarding cases need not always be a matter of concern. An increased number of cases may represent increased confidence on the part of staff in reporting concerns, or may indicate that children feel safe to disclose information to staff. Referrals may include the disclosure of concerns relating to a period prior to the child’s or young person’s entering custody. It is by conducting a thorough investigation that we can understand the nature of each case and identify any trends that need to be addressed. We would not seek to discourage staff from making safeguarding referrals: in fact, we would encourage them to do so. The safeguarding policy in place in YCS, and the accompanying processes, are designed to keep children and young people safe, and it is therefore vital that these policies and processes are followed at all times. All policies applicable to children and young people under 18 also apply to 18-year-olds who remain within the Youth Estate.

Prisoners: Mobile Phones

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been (a) charged and (b) convicted for unlawfully bringing a mobile phone into prison in each of the last 5 years.

Edward Argar: HMPPS published the revised Crime in Prison Referral Agreement in October 2022. The agreement aims to ensure that all acts of criminality that occur in prison are properly addressed within the criminal justice system, particularly in circumstances that indicate that a criminal prosecution is appropriate, or where a statutory obligation exists. It is not possible to identify the number of charges or convictions for unlawfully bringing a mobile phone into prison in each of the last 5 years as this information is not held centrally. Detailed information may be held on local administrative records, but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access and review all potentially relevant records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Youth Custody

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2024 to Question 13383, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount young people aged 18 or over in the youth secure estate who are separated from their peers for more than seven days.

Edward Argar: Separation is used where there is a clear risk of harm, in order to prevent harm to the child or young person separated, or to others. Separation can be critical to reduce the risk of harm, but should be a last resort when managing behaviour. In accordance with recommendations made by H M Inspectorate of Prisons, the Youth Custody Service (YCS) has developed and implemented a new policy framework on use of separation in the youth estate. This was published in April 2022, together with a new system for gathering data and managing instances of separation.  It applies to all children and young people in the Youth Estate, including 18-year-olds. A review of the first 12 months’ delivery is in progress. The YCS has taken a range of actions to improve use of separation in the youth estate, including providing additional resources to ensure effective management and to improve national and local oversight. It is working hard to improve regime and time-out-of-room for all children.

Confiscation Orders: Charities

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing income received by his Department from confiscation orders to charitable organisations.

Mike Freer: Confiscation orders are the principal means by which the government carries out its policy to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crime. They are used with the intent to disrupt and deter criminality. Receipts from confiscation orders, excluding any compensation amounts, are paid to the Home Office by agreement with HM Treasury. The Home Office remain the lead department on confiscation orders, and each financial year distribute a proportion of the funds they collected to partner agencies (including the Ministry of Justice). This funding is provided by the Home Office to respective partner agencies with a primary purpose of investing in asset recovery capabilities.

Prisoners: Offensive Weapons

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been (a) found in and (b) prosecuted for possession of a bladed article in the last year.

Edward Argar: HMPPS published the revised Crime in Prison Referral Agreement in October 2022. The agreement aims to ensure that all acts of criminality that occur in prison are properly addressed within the criminal justice system, particularly in circumstances that indicate that a criminal prosecution is appropriate or where a statutory obligation exists. It is not possible to identify the number of prisoners found in or prosecuted for possession of a bladed article in the last year. Detailed information may be held on local administrative records, but to be able to identify these cases we would have to access and review all potentially relevant records which would be of disproportionate cost.

Reoffenders: Children

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish data on reoffending by individuals under the age of 18 for the year ending March 2023; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures by (a) age and (b) offence type.

Edward Argar: Details of the reoffending rates for juveniles, by age and index offence committed, for the year ending March 2022 (the latest for which data is currently available) are attached. Proven reoffending is measured over a one-year follow-up period, after release from custody or receiving a non-custodial disposal. A proven reoffence is an offence that leads to a new court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning in the one-year follow-up or within a further six-month waiting period to allow the offence to be proven in court. The most recently available annual data is therefore April 2021 – March 2022. The overall juvenile proven reoffending rate has fallen from 40.4% in 2011/12 to 32.2% in 2021/22. Reducing youth reoffending remains a key priority. That’s why we are piloting more intensive community alternatives to custody for children, which can be more effective in reducing reoffending. At the same time, the Government is working to improve outcomes and reduce reoffending rates for the small number of children sentenced to custody. For this reason, we are trialling secure schools as an alternative to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and Secure Training Centres (STCs). Secure schools will be “schools with security” rather than “prisons with education” and will have education, healthcare and purposeful activity at their heart.Reoffending rates for juveniles (xlsx, 23.5KB)

Department for Education

Department for Education: Software

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.

Damian Hinds: As per the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) definition of legacy, the department is only reporting one legacy system centrally. This service provides supporting checks for multiple policies within the department and is end of life. This service links to other government services and shares data through application programming interfaces. There have been two costs associated with this service that the department can report.Costings will be published in the usual way in the department’s annual reports and accounts.

Academies: Sports

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 13588, on Academies, how her Department monitors whether capital receipts from the disposal of publicly funded playing fields by an academy trust are reinvested in improving sports provision at (a) the affected school and (b) local schools.

Damian Hinds: Consent to the freehold sale of publicly funded playing field land by an academy trust will usually be subject to a condition specifying how the capital receipt should be reinvested.The department requires the trust’s Accounting Officer to sign and return an acknowledgement letter attached to the consent letter confirming that the trust will comply with all conditions of consent. Failure to comply with any conditions will mean that the trust may be in breach of its funding agreement.Departmental officials will only mark a case closed once the signed acknowledgement letter is received by the department.

Institute for Employment Studies: Contracts

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's contract with the Institute for Employment Studies of 24 January 2024, tender reference 398710/1312346, if she will publish the specification of services set out in Schedule 20 of that contract.

Damian Hinds: The department will publish the specification set out in Schedule 20. The specification was not included in the version that was initially published, but will be added in advance of the 30 day publication deadline, following government guidance on publishing contracts.

Special Educational Needs: Admissions

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of special free schools that have opened in each year since 1 January 2015; and if she will provide a breakdown of those figures by phase.

Damian Hinds: The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development.There are 108 open special free schools, 97 of which opened since 1 January 2015. The attached table provides the number of special free schools opened in each year since 2015, including a breakdown of these by phase. Free Schools table  (xlsx, 22.3KB)

Transform Schools (Stoke)

Jonathan Gullis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the financial impact of contracts with Transform Schools (Stoke) Limited on existing school budgets.

Damian Hinds: The Stoke Local Authority school private finance initiative (PFI) contract was signed in the year 2000 and covers 88 schools in the area. The contracts were commonplace from 1998 to 2009. The department recognises that some schools with PFI contracts face higher costs.The department supports schools that have unavoidable extra costs related to their PFI contracts through the ‘PFI factor’ in the schools national funding formula.Local authorities determine individual schools’ final funding allocations through their own local formula. Local authorities can choose if, and how, to operate a PFI factor in their local funding formula. How they do this will vary between local authorities, reflecting in each case the specific nature of the PFI contract in question.The purpose of the factor is to fund the additional costs to a school of being in a PFI contract, but not necessarily the full cost, as some costs may be covered within other factors and are not unique to PFI schools.In 2024/25, the department is allocating £3.1 million in funding through the PFI factors for schools in Stoke.

Department for Education: Stonewall

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided to Stonewall in 2023.

Damian Hinds: The department has not funded any Stonewall programmes in 2023.The Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an executive agency of the department, paid a total of £2,160 to Stonewall in 2023. The contract the payment relates to has now expired and STA has confirmed it has no new contracts with Stonewall.

Pupils: Mobile Phones

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to ban school pupils from using phones on the way to and from school.

Damian Hinds: The department has published new guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools. This sets out that all schools should develop and implement a policy that creates a mobile phone free environment by prohibiting the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day. Each school is responsible for deciding how they apply this new guidance and how to accommodate the needs of their pupils. It is for school leaders to develop and implement a tailored policy on the use of mobile phones and other similar devices.If a decision is made to prohibit mobile phones from the school premises entirely, schools should consider the impact on children travelling to and from school where not having a mobile phone poses a risk or the perception of a risk. Schools are encouraged to consult with parents to develop such a policy, considering ways to mitigate specific concerns and build support for this approach.

Schools: Discipline

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is to respond to her Department's consultation entitled Use of reasonable force and restrictive practices in schools which closed on 11 May 2023.

Damian Hinds: The government recognises that the misuse of reasonable force and restrictive interventions can have a significant and long-lasting effect on the pupils, staff members and parents involved, as well as the wider classroom, which can potentially hinder the creation of a calm, safe and supportive school environment. The government is committed to minimising the use of reasonable force and restrictive interventions in all schools in England, including special schools and alternative provision. This commitment includes updating the ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance, published in 2013, to provide advice for schools on creating environments that minimise the use of reasonable force and restrictive interventions, the powers of school staff to use reasonable force and restrictive interventions safely, appropriately and within the law, and making recording and reporting incidents of reasonable force a legal duty. Updates to the ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance will be informed by the call for evidence which closed on 11 May 2023, as well as independent research into the use of reasonable force, physical restraint and other restrictive practices in special schools and alternative provision settings, stakeholder engagement, and data collection through departmental omnibus surveys. The department is considering all responses to the call for evidence as part of its work before the ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance goes out for public consultation later this year.

Department for Education: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Damian Hinds: The department is an inclusive employer that is committed to ensuring that any employee requiring an adjustment is treated fairly and has equal opportunities.The department’s provision of workplace adjustments includes assessing individual needs on a case-by-case basis. These assessments lead to the provision of physical adjustments, such as chairs or desks, to neurodiversity adjustments such as coaching, to the provision of transport and to varying assessments that recommend tools or adjustments that can support individuals in their roles. In addition, the department provides flexible working approaches and encourages employees to utilise the department’s occupational health provider where required.Where recommendations are received as a result of occupational health or other medical providers, the department works with employees and line managers to put in place all reasonable adjustments. In addition, the department follows the Government Workplace Guide where possible.

Department for Business and Trade

Oil: Russia

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of how much oil derived from Russian crude has entered the UK market through third countries in the last two years; and what steps she is taking to prevent its entry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK, alongside our international allies, has imposed sanctions on Russia to limit its ability to wage war.In line with WTO rules of origin and the approach of the European Union, Russian crude which has been substantially processed into refined oil in a third country is no longer considered to be of Russian origin, and therefore, the UK sanctions on Russian oil do not apply.

Imports: EU Countries

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of levels of costs for businesses of UK customs clearance fees on imported goods from the EU.

Kevin Hollinrake: Under the Postal Services Act 2000, postal operators are authorised to recover customs or excise duties charged on imported postal packets, including those from the EU. Goods over £135 attract a VAT or Customs Duty. Postal operators may collect these charges on behalf of HMRC from the recipient prior to delivery. A handling fee is also applied to cover the associated administrative costs.All international courier and postal operators charge fees for their customs support services, and the Government does not have any authority over the charges they make, as these are commercial decisions for the operators.

Department for Business and Trade: Equality

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much her Department spent on equality, diversity and inclusion (a) events and (b) training in the last 12 months.

Greg Hands: (a) DBT has spent £684.40 excluding VAT on equality, diversity and inclusion events in the last 12 months.(b) DBT has spent a total of £960 excluding VAT on equality, diversity and inclusion training in the last 12 months.

Freight: Insolvency

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many road haulage businesses trading under SIC code 49410 entered insolvency in each of the last five years.

Kevin Hollinrake: Estimated numbers of companies with the SIC code 49410 that entered insolvency in the UK in each of the last five calendar years are presented in the table below. Calendar YearCompanies entering insolvency (SIC code 49410 – Freight Transport by Road)20192802020189202126520224082023494

Exports: Russia

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when Ministers last met (a) representatives of the government of and (b) business leaders from Russia to discuss UK exports to that country.

Greg Hands: Details of all Ministerial meetings undertaken on behalf of the Department are published on a quarterly basis on the gov.uk website as part of the Government’s wider transparency agenda. The information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Music Export Growth Scheme

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish eligibility criteria for funding artists under the Music Export Growth Scheme; whether the political (a) beliefs and (b) activities of applicants are taken into consideration; and for what reason the band Kneecap has not been granted funding.

Kevin Hollinrake: Applicants for the Music Export Growth Scheme (MEGS) must confirm they meet the minimum criteria. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) acting as our delivery partner convenes an independent Selection Panel which then makes recommendations to the Department for Business and Trade on MEGS grant awards.Subsequently, the BPI, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), as MEGS co-funder, all carry out due diligence on recommended grant recipients. Following this, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade makes the final grant decisions, in consultation with DCMS. "Kneecap" did not pass the due diligence process. A Pre-Action Protocol letter has been received and no further comment will be made at this time.

Exports: Switzerland

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government has taken to help increase levels of exports to Switzerland in the last two years.

Greg Hands: I refer the Honourable Member to the response provided to Question 12702 on 8 February.

Exports: Australia

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government has taken to help increase levels of exports to Australia in the last two years.

Greg Hands: I refer the Honourable Member to the response provided to Question 12703 on 8 February.

Exports: Japan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps the Government has taken to help increase levels of exports to Japan in the last two years.

Greg Hands: I refer the Honourable Member to the response provided to Question 12700 on 8 February.

Business Rates: Tax Allowances

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether there is a cap on the maximum amount of business rates relief that can be applied under provisions relating to subsidy controls.

Kevin Hollinrake: The UK subsidy control regime does not put numerical limits on the amount of business rates relief that can be provided. Where business rates reliefs constitute a subsidy, public authorities providing those reliefs must consider the subsidy control principles and can provide reliefs at any level they consider to be consistent with those principles.

District Heating: Business Rates

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the maximum level of Minimal Financial Assistance business rates relief was for local heat networks in each year since 2021.

Kevin Hollinrake: An enterprise may receive up to £315,000 of subsidy in a three-year period through the simplified ‘minimal financial assistance’ process. This limit applies to all subsidies given through that simplified process, regardless of their purpose. No such limits apply where a public authority has considered the subsidy control principles and set up a subsidy scheme.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Simon Hoare: As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025.This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15%.The Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework, defining the scope of the digital and data profession, outlines capability standards for roles and skills in the profession. It enables professionals, line managers and hiring managers to have a common understanding of roles and provides a strong foundation for recruitment.DLUHC has a vacancy rate of 11.95%.

Muslim Council of Britain

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the basis for his policy of non-engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain is.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with which organisations, other than the Muslim Council of Britain, the Government has a policy of non-engagement.

Lee Rowley: The Government, under successive administrations, has a long-standing policy of non-engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain. Previous MCB leaders have taken positions that contradict our fundamental values and these have not been explicitly retracted.The Government is committed to engaging with a broad range of leaders and organisations across many different communities and civil society groups. Engagement with communities can strengthen our democracy, our policymaking and our society.However, as highlighted in the Independent Review of Prevent, where best practice is not followed engagement can create risks. It may inadvertently provide a platform or legitimacy for groups or individuals who oppose our shared democratic values and institutions, and allow them to gain greater influence, including in the eyes of those communities to whom they aim to promote their narratives.In its response to the Independent Review of Prevent, the Government committed to ensuring it neither funds, works or consults with extremism-linked groups or individuals. DLUHC is working closely with the Home Office and key cross-government partners, including the Commission for Countering Extremism, to implement this recommendation.

Private Rented Housing: Greater Manchester

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of new build-to-rent housing developments on social cohesion in Greater Manchester.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2024 to Question 14203 on Rents: Greater Manchester, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of build-to-rent developments on average rental costs in (a) Stockport and (b) GreaterManchester.

Jacob Young: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 14203 on 21 February 2024.Build to Rent can play a vital role in helping to meet demand in the Private Rented Sector, and the Greater Manchester area is now the second largest market for Build to Rent investment after London.

Leasehold

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what organisations have made representations to his Department requesting that the leasehold system is maintained.

Lee Rowley: Ministers and officials meet regularly with, and have received correspondence from, a range of stakeholders with different perspectives on Government’s reforms to the leasehold system.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Department complies with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 through Joint Service Publications (JSPs) 375 and 912. JSP 375 sets out policy for managing the health and safety of personnel in defence including assessing and managing workplace and equipment safety. JSP 912 explains the requirement for human factors integration in defence systems and how to go about it. Additionally, the Department provides a comprehensive framework of guidance and a dedicated Workplace Adjustment Service to ensure individuals who may have any additional requirements are not disadvantaged and have appropriate workplace adjustments in place.

Veterans: LGBT+ People

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the publication of the financial compensation scheme for LGBT+ veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2024 to Question 11704 to the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Kevan Jones).LGBT Veterans Independent Review (docx, 15.4KB)

Armed Forces: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications to join the Armed Forces were received from Commonwealth citizens in 2023.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the Minimum Income Requirement changes on the Armed Forces' ability to recruit personnel from (a) the Commonwealth and (b) Nepal.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26 February 2024, to Questions 13874, 13876, 13877, 13878 and 13879.Armed Forces: Foreign Nationals (docx, 14.9KB)

LGBT Veterans Independent Review

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2024 to Question 12239 on LGBT Veterans Independent Review, what progress his Department has made on implementing the final 23 recommendations made by the LGBT Veterans Independent Review, published on 19 July 2023.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Of the remaining 23 recommendations, eight are for Defence, including the recommendations for a financial award. 12 of the recommendations are for the National Health Service, while the Office for Veterans’ Affairs is leading on the three recommendations for a memorial. The Government is committed to maintaining the momentum of the Review and continues to work at pace on the outstanding recommendations, all of which are on track to be delivered in line with the timelines committed to in the Government’s response to the Review. Defence is committed to providing updates on the dedicated LGBT Veterans: Support and Next Steps GOV.UK page at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lgbt-veterans-support-and-next-steps.

Shropshire: Domestic Visits

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will visit (a) RAF Cosford and (b) the RBSL Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities in (i) the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and (ii) Shropshire in 2024.

James Cartlidge: I visited RBSL in Telford, Shropshire on 13 February 2024 to see both Boxer and Challenger 3 manufacturing facilities. I understand that the Defence Secretary has responded to the hon. Member separately on his written invitation to visit both of these sites.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2024 to Question 10908 on Armed Forces: Housing, how many individual families received these payments.

James Cartlidge: Compensation data is recorded by the Service Family Accommodation address to which it relates, not by who was living there at the time. The information is not held in the format requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

MOD Chicksands: Housing

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5th February 2024 to Question 12474 on MOD Chicksands: Housing, how many of the (a) grade 3 and (b) grade 4 bedspaces will be required in each of the years between 2024 and 2030.

James Cartlidge: The anticipated bedspace usage across the period 2024 – 2030 for grade 3 and 4 is: Grade 3 SLA (total 489 beds) 88% - 429 bedsGrade 4 SLA (total 431 beds) 0%

Defence: Artificial Intelligence

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many meetings ministers in his Department have had with representatives of SMEs that are developing (a) defence-related artificial intelligence and (b) artificial intelligence with potential defence capacity in each year since 2015.

James Cartlidge: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: P&O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2024 to Question 6514 on Ministry of Defence: P&O Ferries, what the cost to the public purse was of payments made to (a) P&O Ferries and (b) DP World (i) for support of operational movement services, (ii) for business travel and (iii) on Government Procurement Cards in the period between 17 March 2022 and February 2024.

James Cartlidge: Between 17 March 2022 and 26 February 2024, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) made payments of £710,388.88 directly with P&O using either physical or virtual GPC cards. This includes transactions by the National Movement Coordination Centre (Army). £182,307.89 was spent through GBT, the MOD's contracted travel management company, primarily for business travel.There are no transactions recorded to DP World. This is the total consolidated spend as we are unable to identify separately, transactions specifically for the support of operational movement services.

Armed Forces: Housing

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the standard of Service Family Accomodation.

James Cartlidge: Currently, 96% of Service Family Accommodation meets or exceeds the Government’s Decent Homes Standard.

Ministry of Defence: Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 120 of his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023, HC 1468, for what reason Project GRACE was cancelled.

James Cartlidge: Project GRACE was cancelled as a result of UK Defence consolidating its infrastructure in Northern Ireland.

Israel: Air Force

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12729 on Israel: Air Force, if he will publish the (a) date, (b) time of arrival and departure and (c) next destination of each Israeli Air Force operated plane.

James Heappey: It is our longstanding Defence policy to not comment on third country flight information. The Diplomatic Flight Clearance policy is a robust practice and the basis on which a foreign partner may or may not be granted permission to utilise UK air bases is dependent on the nature and purpose of their activity, which is assessed in line with Defence internal policy.

Middle East: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are (a) stationed in and (b) deployed to the Middle East.

James Heappey: There are approximately 300 Service personnel stationed; and approximately 2,100 Service personnel deployed on operations in the Middle East. On any given date these figures can vary due to routine force rebalancing, rest and recuperation periods and relief in place.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, whether this funding will be drawn from the International Fund for Ukraine.

James Heappey: The funding for the recently announced £245 million munitions package for Ukraine will be drawn from the £2.5 billion of Special Reserve funding allocated for financial year 2024-25, not the International Fund for Ukraine.A competition for the manufacture and supply of artillery ammunition is also underway on behalf of the International Fund for Ukraine. The potential costs of this competition are commercially sensitive and cannot be made public.

Nuclear Weapons: Military Bases

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's policy is on stationing non-UK nuclear weapons at UK military sites.

James Cartlidge: It remains longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.

Ministry of Defence: Software

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding their Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.

James Cartlidge: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3661 on Ministry of Defence spending on legacy IT.Ministry of Defence ICT (docx, 15.2KB)

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Anthony Browne: 12%

Members: Correspondence

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to respond to the letter of 9 November 2023 from the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South constituency sent on behalf of a constituent.

Anthony Browne: A response to your letter was sent on 26 February.

Government Departments: DP World and P&O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the procurement of services from (a) P&O Ferries and (b) DP World by Government departments.

Guy Opperman: In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.

Aviation: Fuels

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to ensure that sustainable aviation fuel projects can start construction in 2025.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that projects that received alternative fuels fund round 1 grants remain viable.

Anthony Browne: Our Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) programme is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The Government’s Advanced Fuels Fund has allocated £135m across 13 projects to support private investment in UK SAF projects by overcoming perceived technological and construction risks and will support our industry shared aim to have at least five commercial SAF plants under construction in the UK by 2025.Our SAF mandate that will be in force from 2025 and in September, the government committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF production in the UK.

Cross Country Line: Overcrowding

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2024 to Question 12442 on Cross Country Trains: Overcrowding, how many times Ministers from his Department met Cross Country Trains to discuss overcrowding and cancellations on Cross Country rail services in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.

Huw Merriman: In line with the terms of the applicable contract, officials from the Department meet with CrossCountry Directors to discuss train service performance (including the level of cancellations and crowding) and other contractual matters:(a) at least every four weeks in 2023 with additional meetings from time to time(b) four times since 1 January 2024.

Brinnington Station: Access

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to introduce step-free access at Brinnington Station.

Huw Merriman: In 2022 we asked the industry to nominate stations for the next round of Access for All funding which the Prime Minister confirmed in October will be worth £350m. Brinnington station was not nominated and therefore will not be eligible for this funding. We are not aware of any other planned work at the station that would require compliance with current accessibility standards.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions (a) he, (b) the Minister of State for Rail and (c)HS2 have had with the Rail Delivery Group on industrial action on the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with industry to discuss a wide range of topics, including industrial action. HS2 has had no recent discussions with the Rail Delivery Group regarding industrial action because they are not due to operate rail services until 2029-2033.

Railways: Concessions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Network Railcards are in circulation as of 22 February 2024.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Network Railcards were in circulation in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many passenger journeys were taken using Network Railcards in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, and (e) 2023.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the savings on train fares generated by the use of Network Railcards in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the revenue raised from passenger journeys taken using Network Railcards in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the annual cost of administering the issuing of Network Railcards.

Huw Merriman: The Department is not able to provide sales or journeys data on the Network Railcard for this or previous years. Railcard sales data is commercially sensitive and managed by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on behalf of train operators. RDG manage and deliver the Railcard schemes, including the Network Railcard. The Department does not hold data on their administrative costs. According to the Network Railcard website, on average Railcard holders save £134 annually. Individual savings will depend on the journeys each passenger makes.

Buses

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to hold discussions with the Confederation of Passenger Transport on (a) buses and (b) coaches.

Guy Opperman: The Department for Transport regularly engages with a range of stakeholders, including the Confederation of Passenger Transport to discuss buses and coaches, in order to deliver better bus services for passengers as set out in the National Bus Strategy. The Department will continue to engage with the Confederation of Passenger Transport on a regular basis.

Cars: Standards

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce a specific width limit for passenger cars.

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increased car (a) sizes and (b) weights on (i) road safety and (ii) climate change.

Guy Opperman: A width limit for passenger cars is already in place. All vehicles are required to meet rigorous requirements for safety to protect occupants and other road users and stringent environmental standards. With respect to climate change, our Zero Emission Vehicle mandate will put us on a pathway to ensuring that, by 2035, all new cars and vans will be zero emissions at the exhaust.

Cycling: Pedestrian Areas

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that cyclists are aware of Rule 64 of the Highway Code.

Guy Opperman: The Highway Code is published by the DVSA, which promotes adherence with the code via direct communications to learner drivers and via accredited driving instructors.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Vacancies

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department are vacant.

Robert Courts: The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) does not have any Digital and Data (DDaT) posts.The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the AGO’s shared IT service provider. The total number of vacant DDaT posts in the CPS is 32, 10.5% of DDaT posts in the CPS.As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, all government departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15%.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department are vacant.

Andrew Griffith: There are 19 vacancies in the digital directorate among 178 posts. We do not centrally hold information on Digital posts and vacancies around the department.

Department for Work and Pensions

Citizens Advice: Contracts

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which business or organisation has been awarded the Help to Claim contract for April 2024 to March 2026.

Jo Churchill: We expect to announce the outcome of the Future Support Offer 2024 grant competition for Help to Claim in March.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment decisions overturned at tribunal were due to (a) the tribunal panel drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, (b) oral evidence given by the individual and (c) new written evidence provided at the hearing in each year for which data is available.

Mims Davies: Analysis of unpublished Personal Independence Payment (PIP) data held by DWP provides data on why decisions by DWP decision makers have been overturned at a tribunal hearing between January 2014 and September 2023 and is shown annually in the tables below. This information is taken from Decision Notices and recorded on the PIP computer system. This data only provides one reason per appeal why decisions by DWP decision makers have been overturned at a tribunal hearing, and therefore may not give the full story as there may be other reasons. Appeals data is taken from the DWP PIP computer system’s management information. Therefore, this appeal data may differ from that held by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for various reasons such as delays in data recording and other methodological differences in collating and preparing statistics. These figures are the result of a complex data match across a number of data sets. This data is unpublished data. It should be used with caution, and it may be subject to future revision. Learning from this information, we have made improvements to our decision-making processes to help ensure we make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We have introduced a new approach to decision making at both the initial decision and the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, giving Decision Makers additional time to proactively contact customers where they think additional evidence may support the claim. Summary reason DWP decision overturned at Tribunal hearingAppeal clearance year2014201520162017201820192020202120222023 (to September)Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal1002,0006,3005,0004,4002,6001,900400200300Cogent oral evidence1,10014,70022,90026,50025,10026,20011,8008,8008,80011,800Reached a different conclusion on substantially the same facts2002,9007,70013,60021,10024,60026,10016,30016,70017,500Other1002,3005,2008,2007,6007,1005,0001,9001,9002,000 Summary reason DWP decision overturned at Tribunal hearingAppeal clearance year2014201520162017201820192020202120222023 (to September)Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal6%9%15%9%8%4%4%1%1%1%Cogent oral evidence75%67%54%50%43%43%26%32%32%37%Reached a different conclusion on substantially the same facts14%13%18%26%36%41%58%60%61%56%Other4%10%12%15%13%12%11%7%7%6% Note:Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and percentages to the nearest percent.

Universal Credit

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of applications to delay migration from tax credits to universal credit have been granted in each of the last 12 months.

Jo Churchill: The following table provides information on the number of extension requests granted. The data relating to the proportion of people who requested an extension and then were granted an extension cannot be provided because it is not held centrally.  Tax Credit claimants Migration Notices sent to individualsof which, extension to Migration Notice period grantedMonth Migration Notice sent Jan-2352010Feb-2396010Mar-231,00010Apr-234,95060May-2312,880170Jun-2323,180250Jul-2326,970220Aug-2344,500380Sep-2339,410100 Notes:Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10‘..’ indicates nil or negligibleMigration notices are included only until the end of September to allow households to have reached their deadline, in line with published official statistics to December 2023Source: Move to Universal Credit operation system

Children: Maintenance

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to commence section 25 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008.

Paul Maynard: The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023, it amended section 32M of the Child Support Act 1991 as inserted by section 25 of the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008. When commenced it will streamline enforcement processes by removing the requirement to obtain a court issued liability order and enable the Secretary of State to issue an administrative liability order. This will reduce the process from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks, making it quicker to get money to children. A public consultation to seek views on proposed regulations to be introduced for administrative liability orders concluded in November 2023, and the Government response was published on 12 February 2024. Legislation will be brought forward as soon as possible.

Welding: Health Hazards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that businesses provide adequate respiratory protective equipment to people at risk of residual welding fume.

Paul Maynard: The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require that businesses ensure that exposure to substances hazardous to health, like welding fume, are either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. The key control measure should be the use of appropriate local exhaust ventilation (LEV) to extract welding fume from the work area. Where LEV is not reasonably practicable, for example in an outdoor environment, or where the LEV on its own cannot provide adequate control then the business has a duty to provide respiratory protective equipment (RPE) to control the residual risk. The HSE conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. Part of the inspection is to check that welders have the appropriate RPE where required. The COSHH Essentials Welding Sheet WL3 gives welders guidance on the appropriate type of mask and grade of filters, suitable for welding, Welding fume control (hse.gov.uk).

Department for Work and Pensions: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Paul Maynard: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The information is held by numerous teams across the department, some focussing on employees and some on customers.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions his Department's final decision on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has differed from the medical opinion of the recommendation of Maximus staff in the last 12 months.

Mims Davies: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Information on Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) assessments by decision type can be found on Stat-Xplore. You can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, you can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions a decision made by his Department on a person's eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits has been found to be incorrect or unsuitable in the last 12 months.

Mims Davies: We have determined this query as relating to Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits (IIDB) disputes, i.e. Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.Decisions can be overturned at a later stage in the claim journey for a number of reasons - it does not necessarily mean that the original decision was incorrect. The main reasons that decisions are overturned on appeal are: tribunals drawing a different conclusion based on the same evidence, cogent oral evidence given by the individual, or new written evidence provided at the hearing.From October 2022 to September 2023 inclusive, 1,100 IIDB Mandatory Reconsiderations were completed. In 100 of these the decision was changed.This data is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standards. It should therefore be treated with caution.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.Figures include Industrial Injuries Disablement Allowance and Reduced Earnings Allowance.Definition of Mandatory Reconsideration: Claimants who wish to dispute a decision made on their claim are required to ask the department to reconsider the decision before they can lodge an appeal with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service. MRs can arise for various reasons, such as omitting to tell the DWP about relevant evidence during the initial decision-making process; this could include not returning forms required as part of the claim.Figures are for Great Britain only. Information on First-tier Tribunal appeals is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics . Specifically, information on the number of appeal receipts, disposals and outcomes of IIDB appeals, can be found in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) tables: SSCS_1, SSCS_2 and SSCS_3 of the Main Tables.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to change the industrial injuries disablement benefits final decision making system.

Mims Davies: The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible on claims for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Where a person receives a decision about their IIDB and they disagree with that decision, they can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to look at the decision again (this is called a Mandatory Reconsideration). If the claimant remains dissatisfied with the decision following Mandatory Reconsideration, they may appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal, where the decision will be looked at again by the independent judiciary. The Department has no plans to change its decision-making processes.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what training is required for staff making decisions on eligibility for industrial injuries disablement benefits.

Mims Davies: The Department always aims to make the right decision as early as possible, and all staff making decisions on eligibility for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) receive appropriate training in line with this aim. This includes standardised training packages targeted at certain decision-making staff, and new staff sitting with experienced decision makers for an initial period, to observe the process for a range of different possible decisions. Further standardised training packages are also being developed. Detailed decision making guidance for IIDB is also made available to all decision makers. The Department publishes its “Decision Makers’ Guides” on GOV.UK, and the relevant materials for IIDB are available here.

Candidates: Disability

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Action 1 in her Department's Disability Action Plan, published on 5 February 2024, whether he plans to establish a temporary fund in 2025 to support disabled general election candidates in England and Wales with their disability-related costs.

Mims Davies: The Disability Action Plan aims to support more disabled people into elected office roles. As part of this, the Government has committed to establishing a new fund, which will be launched in 2025 following design and development work and close engagement with disabled people. Importantly, this will ensure that we create a long term solution that meets the needs of its users and learns lessons from previous elected office funds.In the meantime, while this work is underway, the Disability Unit will develop and publish new guidance by summer 2024 on how political parties can best support disabled candidates. This will help to improve support in the short term while we establish a new long-term approach.Political parties still have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that their disabled members who contest any political position are not disadvantaged and can take part in the same processes and opportunities as non-disabled people.

Productivity and Sick Leave: Air Pollution

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to tackle (a) workforce sickness and (b) reduced productivity due to air pollution.

Mims Davies: The Joint DWP and DHSC Work & Health Directorate was set up in 2015 in recognition of the significant link between work and health and to reflect the shared agenda of boosting employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions. This not only benefits people’s health and wealth, but also the UK economy through increased productivity and reduced economic inactivity. The Government therefore has an ambitious programme of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including conditions linked to air pollution, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include: the Work and Health Programme; Access to Work grants; Disability Confident; a digital information service for employers; Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres; and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care. Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023 to: double the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme; launch WorkWell in approximately 15 pilot areas; and explore new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to support, alongside a newly established occupational health taskforce. The Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) was established as a joint venture between Defra and the DfT to deliver the Government’s NO2 reduction strategies and they have provided this Department with the following information. The UK is compliant with all its current domestic and international emission reduction commitments. This includes emissions of ammonia (with the inclusion of an approved adjustment), non-methane volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide. However, the Government recognises there is more to do to protect people and the environment from the effects of air pollution, which is why we are taking the significant and wide-ranging action to drive improvements to air quality as set out in our Environmental Improvement Plan 2023. This action is supported by the Environment Act 2021, through which we set two ambitious new targets for PM2.5, the pollutant most damaging to human health. Our innovative dual-target approach will improve public health by tackling areas where concentrations are highest as well as driving action to reduce exposure for all, maximising public health benefit.

Employment: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 11938 on Veterans: Employment, if he will take steps to help ensure that the Office for National Statistics collects data on veterans in the labour market on a non-experimental basis.

Mims Davies: The process the independent Office for National Statistics take to evaluate whether statistics should be labelled experimental statistics or not, is outlined here.ONS welcome feedback on their plans for the transformation of the Labour Force Survey by emailing them at here. Currently all data from the Transformed Labour Force Survey is badged as experimental because it is still in the development phase including data on veterans in the labour market.

Universal Credit: Armed Forces

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8295 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if he will take steps to collect data on the specific branches of the armed forces that Universal Credit claimants are serving in or have served in the past.

Mims Davies: We currently have no plans to collect this data. Where the branch in which someone served is relevant to their Universal Credit claim or the employment support they need, this will be discussed with the Work Coach or Armed Forces Champion supporting the claimant concerned.

Universal Credit: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8295 on Universal Credit: Veterans, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of Universal Credit claimants who have been identified as having served in the past in the armed forces.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to help veterans into work.

Mims Davies: I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 6 February 2024 to question 11939.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2024 to Question 11563 on Jobcentres: Birmingham Selly Oak, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating Armed Forces Champions to every Jobcentre in England.

Mims Davies: Each of our 37 Jobcentre Districts has an Armed forces Champion available for every Jobcentre, including Selly Oak JCP, to access. Our Work Coaches are trained on how to provide tailored and personalised support to claimants dependant on their individual circumstances. Jobcentres vary in size and structure therefore the support required will vary for each site. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, the local manager will ensure that the right level of support can be accessed.

Department for Work and Pensions: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Paul Maynard: The following table provides the current breakdown of vacant digital posts in DWP. These are divided into contingent labour and also shows posts where exercises are underway to fill them permanently. Type Workforce target4606Vacant posts195Contingent Labour181

Welding: Health Hazards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) provide information to welders on and (b) help protect welders from the potential health risks associated with mild steel welding fume.

Paul Maynard: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has taken the following steps to provide information to welders: A safety alert was issued in 2019 following the change in the categorisation of mild steel welding fume carcinogenicity. This led to a lot of action from industry and articles in the trade press (Change in Enforcement Expectations for Mild Steel Welding Fume (hse.gov.uk)). The specific HSE guidance to businesses on welding fume control was updated in the form of the COSHH Essentials Welding Sheet WL3 (Welding fume control (hse.gov.uk)). HSE’s website has a wide range of guidance and resources on the safety and health hazards associated with welding (Welding - HSE). Access to HSE’s website and downloading the documents on the website is free. HSE developed a multi-channel media campaign, including the Work Right Site (Campaigns Archive - Work Right to keep Britain safe), a top tips resource on preparing for inspections and regular e-bulletins and social media alerts covering welding fume control. A series of presentations at stakeholder events and webinars, reaching thousands of people and hosted by multiple partners, informed duty holders about the required control measures for metal working fluids and welding. The findings of the regular HSE inspection campaigns are shared and highlighted with the relevant industry stake holder groups. More widely HSE has worked with the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) to promote the Breathe Freely campaign (Breathe Freely – Controlling exposures to prevent occupational lung disease in industry) HSE conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. Since 2013 there have been annual campaigns specifically focussing on metal fabrication businesses including assessment of their control of exposure to welding fume. Inspection activities in other industries, for example agriculture and construction, also address welding controls where appropriate.

Welding: Health Hazards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that businesses undertaking welding provide effective controls on the fumes arising from welding.

Paul Maynard: The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require that businesses ensure that exposure to substances hazardous to health, like welding fume, are either prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled. The hierarchy of control measures specified by COSHH requires systems of work and engineering controls to be implemented, where reasonably practicable, to provide adequate control of welding fume. A key engineering control is the provision of suitable Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) equipment to remove the fume at source. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. A key part of the inspection is to check that the correct type of LEV is provided, that it is effective, that workers know how to set up and use the equipment correctly, welding is appropriately supervised, that the LEV is maintained and that the LEV is thoroughly examined and tested by competent examiners at the correct intervals. HSE has worked with the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS) to promote the BOHS Welding LEV On-line Selector Tool developed and published on their website that allows duty holders to specify their welding requirements and circumstances and the tool suggests the most appropriate control measures (Welding Fume Control Selector Tool).

Welding: Carcinogens

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of people that have been exposed (a) directly and (b) indirectly to welding fume since the categorisation of welding fume as a human carcinogen by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.

Paul Maynard: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the numbers of people directly or indirectly exposed to welding fume.

Pension Credit

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the uptake of Pension Credit in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Paul Maynard: To raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up, the Department launched a nationwide marketing and communications campaign in April 2022. This campaign has included advertising on national TV; in regional and national newspapers (including Birmingham Mail and Coventry Telegraph); on local and national broadcast radio (stations such as Capital Birmingham, Free Radio Birmingham and Coventry, Greatest Hits Radio Coventry and Heart West Midlands); on medical centre and Post Office screens across Great Britain; as well as advertising on buses and digital street displays. Online marketing activity also included promotion of Pension Credit on social media, via internet search engines and sponsored advertising on targeted websites that pensioners, their friends and family are likely to visit. There is a strong indication that the campaign has had a positive impact and has resulted in an unprecedented number of Pension Credit applications. The number of claims received in the financial year 2022-23 was more than 80% higher than over the same period the year before. Latest available figures also show that more households were receiving Pension Credit in August 2023 than in May 2022 – at the beginning of the campaign. The Department is also continuing to build on this success through various creative no-cost media campaigns to boost awareness of the benefit through broadcast, radio and print media. We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including other Government Departments, Councils, and charities, asking for their support to raise awareness through their networks and channels.

Dual Jobholding: Statutory Sick Pay

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of employees eligible to receive Statutory Sick Pay from more than one employer.

Jo Churchill: Statutory Sick Pay is administered and paid by employers. Since 2014, employers are not required to report information on Statutory Sick Pay payments therefore this information is not available.

Dual Jobholding: Low Pay

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of employees that (a) have two or more jobs and (b) earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit in each job.

Jo Churchill: The Department does not hold the information requested.

National Insurance: State Retirement Pensions

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the National Insurance (NI)/State Pension scheme rules so that any NI payments made before State Pension age are taken into account so that they can contribute to gaining a Full NI Qualifying Year.

Paul Maynard: No such assessment has been made. A person's working life is the period from the beginning of the tax year (6 April) in which they are aged 16, to the end of the tax year (5 April) before the one in which they reach State Pension age (known as the Final Relevant Year). National Insurance contributions made during an individual’s Final Relevant Year count towards their National Insurance record however, contributions made in the tax year someone reaches State Pension age do not. This is because the administration of National Insurance records is carried out in line with tax years – from 6 April one year to 5 April the next year. Over a working life, most people will build enough Qualifying Years to maximise their state pension.

Household Support Fund: Impact Assessments

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department prepared an impact assessment on its decision not to extend the Household Support Fund.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of discontinuing the Household Support Fund on local government finances.

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of discontinuing the Household Support Fund on Liverpool City Council.

Jo Churchill: The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.

Universal Credit: Students

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2024 to Question 14619 on Universal Credit: Students, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for Universal Credit to higher education students affected by (a) coercive financial control and (b) other forms of domestic abuse.

Jo Churchill: There are no plans to change current policy.

Treasury

National Insurance: Foster Care

Drew Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to top up national insurance contributions for individuals who received foster care allowances but were not allowed to work while fostering.

Nigel Huddleston: Foster carers can claim National Insurance (NI) credits known as ‘Credits for Parents and Carers’ (CPC) which count towards their State Pension. If a foster carer is unable to work due to their caring responsibilities, claiming CPC will prevent any gaps in their NI record as a result for State Pension purposes. CPC can be claimed for periods from 6 April 2010 onwards and replaced Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) which foster carers can claim for periods between 2003 – 2010.

Roads: Freight

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of the recommendation of the Road Haulage Association to extend full expensing to the cost of leased vehicles, published on 26 January 2024.

Nigel Huddleston: At the Autumn Statement 2023, the government confirmed it will keep this proposal under consideration and will be publishing draft legislation for a period of technical consultation in due course. The government will continue to work with industry on this important issue, through the established working group.

Treasury: Software

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.

Gareth Davies: The Department has incurred some costs in relation to software updates to legacy computer systems; however, this information is not readily available, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Mileage Allowances

Jim McMahon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what component costs were used to calculate the HMRC mileage rate in 2010; and if he will make the equivalent calculation based on today's costs.

Gareth Davies: Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are used by employers to reimburse an employee’s expenses for business mileage in their private vehicle; and by self-employed drivers to claim tax relief on business mileage. The rates for cars are 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence per mile thereafter. The rates are arrived at after considering a range of factors including:• the costs of motoring per business mile for a range of cars andmileages;• the transport needs of business;• the cost to the Exchequer of changing the rate; and• the overall fiscal position. The AMAP rates are not mandatory, and employers can choose to pay more or less than the AMAP rate. It is therefore ultimately up to employers to determine the rate at which they reimburse their employees. Like all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review as part of the annual Budget process.

Small Businesses: Government Assistance

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Gareth Davies: Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Small businesses across the West Midlands will benefit from the £105 million the area has received from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which ramps up to £1.5bn this coming year. This will enable the West Midlands to invest in business support, people and wider regeneration. The Government also funds a network of 37 Growth Hubs across England to give free support and advice to businesses. Additionally, the Made Smarter Adoption programme, which has been operating in multiple regions including the West Midlands, helps manufacturing SMEs adopt advanced digital technology and is being expanded to further regions in England in 2025/26.

Treasury: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Gareth Davies: Regulation 4 paras 29 and 30(d) and the corresponding Schedule 1 (d) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 does not fully relate to the work of HM Treasury as it is an office-based department that is focused on policy delivery. HM Treasury do not use personal protective equipment to do their work.. However, HM Treasury do carry out principles of prevention including office design and ergonomically compliant workstations. Where risks are identified, work activity risk assessment are in place. Risks are evaluated and controlled if they cannot be fully removed. All staff are provided with relevant workstation equipment. Where required, specific reasonable adjustments are in place to carry out their work. Office environment and workstation assessments are in place and compliant with Display Screen Equipment Regulations.

UK Government Investments

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the balance of UK Government Investment Ltd. holdings in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 to date.

Bim Afolami: UK Government Investments (UKGI) provides governance and corporate finance expertise to government departments in support of their policy objectives. The shareholdings of the arm’s length bodies in UKGI’s portfolio are held by the government department that own each organisation rather than held on the UKGI balance sheet. Details on the UKGI balance sheet can be found in their Annual Report and Accounts (Link here)

UK Government Investments

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what UK Government Investments Ltd.'s targets are for (a) rates of return, (b) dividends and (c) capital investment.

Bim Afolami: UK Government Investments (UKGI) provides governance and corporate finance expertise to UK Government departments in support of their policy objectives. UKGI performs the shareholder function for a portfolio of arm’s length bodies (ALBs) on behalf of government departments. The targets and objectives for the individual ALBs within UKGI’s portfolio are set by the relevant department. Whilst some of these bodies return dividends, others exist to deliver public services such as National Highways. For example, the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) is an ALB within UKGI’s portfolio. HM Treasury (HMT) are the sponsor department for UKIB and own the shares in UKIB. UKGI advise HMT on corporate governance and act as HMT’s representative on the Board. HMT set relevant targets for UKIB, including a return on equity target of 2.5% - 4% by the end of the financial year 2025-26 (Link here).

Bank Services: Access

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that people living in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England have access to banking services.

Bim Afolami: The Government believes that all customers, wherever they live, should have appropriate access to banking and cash services, and is monitoring this issue closely. It is imperative that firms recognise the needs of all their customers, including those who need to use in-person services. UK banking customers can access banking services through a number of different channels. This includes in branches, Post Offices or Banking Hubs, as well as via telephone banking and through digital means such as mobile or online banking. The Post Office allows personal and business customers to carry out everyday banking services at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK. Banking Hubs are an initiative which enable customers of participating banks to access cash and banking services in shared facilities. Over 100 Banking Hubs have been announced so far, including in Stone, Cheadle and Pershore in the wider West Midlands region, and the Government hopes to see these all open as soon as possible.

Mortgages: Interest Rates

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes in mortgage interest rates in each of the last two years on the income of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

Bim Afolami: The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation, and the Government is fully committed to supporting the Bank of England get inflation back down to the 2% target, including by keeping borrowing under control. While the pricing of mortgages is ultimately a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene, our plan is working, and the average offered mortgage rates on 2-year and 5-year fixed rates are now lower compared to their peak in Summer 2023. The Government’s Mortgage Charter - in addition to the significant safeguards already in place - is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low. Since 2022, the government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Support for households to help with the cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25, or £3,700 per household on average.

Oil: Russia

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation is taking to ensure the compliance of attestation documents for Russian oil products.

Bim Afolami: The PM along with other G7 Leaders in their statement of 24 February 2024 committed to continue to take steps to tighten compliance and enforcement of the oil price cap on Russian oil. The UK and G7 partners will respond to violations including by imposing additional sanctions measures on those engaged in deceptive practices while transporting Russian oil and against the networks Russia has developed to extract additional revenue from price cap violations. These additional sanctions measures include, but are not limited to, the changes to the attestation model announced by the G7+ Price Cap Coalition on 20 December 2023 and the UK’s new designations of oil traders announced on 22 February 2024. From 19 February 2024, the attestation model was updated to require attestations to be shared on a per-voyage basis, as part of a relevant transaction. As well as per-voyage attestations, the new model requires itemised ancillary costs to be recorded and provided to contractual counterparties upon request. To support industry participants in complying with the oil price cap and with the new attestation requirements, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OSFI) on 16 February 2024 issued updated industry guidance. OFSI also co-authored a joint G7+ Price Cap Coalition oil price cap compliance and enforcement alert which issued on 1 February 2024.

Oil: Russia

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many violations of the price caps on Russian oil products the Office for Financial Sanctions Implementation has (a) investigated and (b) enforced since the implementation of those caps.

Bim Afolami: OFSI takes a proactive enforcement approach and is currently undertaking a number of investigations into suspected breaches of the oil price cap, using powers under SAMLA to request information and working closely with our international partners in the G7+ Coalition. Due to the sensitivity of ongoing sanctions enforcement casework, I cannot confirm the number of suspected oil price cap violations which are under investigation or have been enforced against by OFSI.

House of Commons Commission

Members' Staff: ICT

James Daly: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the policy of the Parliamentary Digital Service is on (a) the rights of access to parliamentary (i) emails and (ii) electronic devices for line managers of hon. Members’ staff and (b) providing access to parliamentary (A) emails and (B) electronic devices to parliamentary staff funded via short money; and whether the Parliamentary Digital Service has issued guidance to political parties on these matters.

Sir Charles Walker: Members are the Controllers for the personal data held by their Parliamentary offices. This includes the data and information stored on the Parliamentary-provided devices and network accounts of their Parliamentary staff, including staff funded by short money.In almost all circumstances, access is only provided to the data held in a Member’s parliamentary account or devices (or those of their staff) by the Parliamentary digital Service (PDS) on the instruction of that Member in their capacity as Controller. This is in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) data processing contract between each Member and the Administration.As the Controller, a Member can instruct PDS to grant themselves, or members of their Parliamentary staff, access to the accounts and devices assigned to other staff in their own office.Devices funded by short money that have been ordered through PDS are managed by PDS. In line with the UK GDPR data processing contract between individual Members and the Administration, PDS would facilitate access to the information stored on these devices at the instruction of the Controller.Although no specific guidance has been issued by PDS to political parties on this issue, the Administrations of both Houses of Parliament have a data processing contract that applies to Controllers using Parliament’s IT systems. The contract for Members of both Houses includes a service description that sets out how Members are using Parliament’s IT systems to process the personal data which they are responsible for.

Home Office

Visas: National Security

Robert Jenrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK visa holders have had visas revoked on the grounds of (a) national security and (b) being non-conducive to the public good since 6 December 2023.

Tom Pursglove: We don’t publish data on UK visa holders who have had visas revoked on the grounds of (a) national security and (b) being non-conducive to the public good since 6 December 2023.

Terrorism: Criminal Investigation

Alistair Strathern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arrested for terrorism-related activity have been released under investigation in each year since 2014.

Tom Tugendhat: Year to Sept 2014Year to Sept 2015Year to Sept 2016Year to Sept 2017Year to Sept 2018Year to Sept 2019Year to Sept 2020Year to Sept 2021Year to Sept 2022Charged119171182171154114879076Released without being charged 140  175  141  273  145  128  104  83  85 Bailed to return & released under investigation 0  1  2  2  4  2  3  6  18 Prior to the June 2019 publication, those who were released under investigation were unable to be recorded separately and were recorded as 'released without charge'. From June 2019 the Home Office has published numbers on those bailed to return & released under investigation as one figure.Data presented here are based on the latest position with each case as at the date of data provision from CTPHQ Coordination Centre (23 October 2023). Therefore individuals released under investigation may have their outcome updated over time, and the numbers change accordingly. More information regarding individuals arrested and charged for terrorist-related activity can be found in the Home Office’s Operation of police powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 statistics release.

Home Office: Software

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding their Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.

Chris Philp: In the Home Office, a total of 13% of the department’s main IT systems are regarded as Legacy, being on platforms deemed no longer to be invested in.However, it is not possible to determine the amount spent on software updates alone on legacy systems, as those costs are often shared and/or not itemised under other service line costs.

Drugs: Misuse

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits introducing drug contamination testing facilities in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Chris Philp: The Government has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of drug checking facilities, but it recognises the potential harm reduction benefits of them.The Government facilitates drug checking facilities provided that the possession and supply of controlled drugs are licensed by the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit or, exceptionally, relevant exemptions under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 may apply.Ministers are clear that drug checking services must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly, in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.

Immigration Controls: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many raids were carried out by Border Force in Lincolnshire in each year since 2021.

Michael Tomlinson: Our published data on enforcement visits is available at the following link: Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Information about the number of enforcement visits conducted by Immigration Enforcement specifically in Lincolnshire is not available in our published data.

Asylum: Rwanda

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2024 to Question 7579 on Asylum:Rwanda, if he will publish his plans for future flights between the UK and Rwanda for the purposes of relocating asylum seekers under the UK-Rwanda treaty on provision of an asylum partnership; and whether he has made an estimate of the cost of such flights over the next two years.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has prepared contingency plans for relocating asylum seekers to Rwanda if a commercial airline cannot be found to operate flights.

Michael Tomlinson: These discussions are commercially sensitive and therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on them.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Hearing Impairment

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce barriers to entry for young deaf people in (a) sport and (b) other activities.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote the inclusion of deaf people in sport.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is dedicated to making sport in this country accessible and inclusive for everyone, including d/Deaf people.That is why, through our arm's length body, Sport England, we have provided £1.2 million between 2022 and 2027 to support deaf sport at the grassroots level, build wider participation, and develop strong governance within UK Deaf Sport.Sport England are also exploring a series of small-scale talent pilots for d/Deaf athletes. These pilots will see Sport England, National Governing Bodies, and UK Deaf Sport working together to explore these issues and suggest potential solutions.The Government-funded School Games programme offers children the opportunity to take part in competitions in over 40 sports at local and regional level, including inclusive, modified versions of the sports. Since 2010, the School Games have offered 13.4 million participation opportunities for young people.Outside of the school day, the £57 million investment in the Opening School Facilities programme allows schools to open their sport facilities outside of the core school hours. Up to 1350 schools across England have been targeted, with the funding aimed at having the most positive impact on their communities, including for children with special educational needs and disabilities.The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a range of funding to help widen access to heritage. For example, in 2020 they supported Funky Kids to enable families of children with D/deafness or hearing impairments to take part in social activities that taught them about local heritage, traditions and skills passed down through generations.Arts Councils across the UK are working together with the British Film Institute to launch a free, UK-wide arts access scheme, called ‘All-In’. The pilot of this scheme is set to launch in spring 2024. This scheme will operate across the UK in arts and cultural venues, for seamless, barrier-free booking which is responsive to individual circumstances and needs, including those who are d/Deaf.DCMS investment is enabling important accessibility upgrades in cultural venues across the country, including via infrastructure grants to DCMS-sponsored cultural bodies. The joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which is available to a wide range of museums and galleries across England, also has improvements to access and/or interpretation for visitors with disabilities as a core criterion. Recent grants have supported projects at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the People’s History Museum in Manchester who are working with d/Deaf people, and other groups, to improve accessibility to their galleries and spaces.

Football: Racial Discrimination

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of racism in football in England.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of racism in (a) management, (b) coaching and (c) academy football roles in England.

Stuart Andrew: There is no place for discrimination in sport, or in wider society. I am committed to ensuring sport does all it can to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination.Fans can be charged with a Football Banning Order and fined if found to use racist slurs towards players at football games. Sentences can be more severe if it has been recorded as a hate crime.The Government has also amended legislation to extend the use of Football Banning Orders, so that online abusers can be banned from stadiums for up to 10 years in the same way violent individuals are barred from grounds.We welcome the recent changes to the Code for Sports Governance and the ongoing work of the FA, the leagues, and organisations such as Kick It Out and the Black Footballers Partnership in challenging discrimination.

Tour de France

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.148 of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, whether UK Sport is actively pursuing a 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ bid.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much and what proportion of the £30 million allocated for the UK’s proposed bids for the (a) 2025 Rugby World Cup and (b) 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ has (i) been spent on each event and (ii) is yet to be spent as of 21 February 2024.

Stuart Andrew: DCMS works closely with UK Sport on the hosting of major sporting events. UK Sport often undertakes feasibility work into major sporting events to understand the costs, impacts and technical requirements of hosting.This supports the UK’s strategic objective to secure a programme of major sporting events into the 2030s that will generate impact across the cities and regions of the UK and allow our world-class events sector to thrive.In May 2022, England were announced as hosts of the Rugby World Cup 2025. This event has ambitions to be the best attended women’s Rugby World Cup ever. Up to the end of Financial Year 2023/24, around £11 million will have been invested into staging costs for the Rugby World Cup 2025, and the RFU-led Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact programme.The Tour de France Grand Départ is being considered as part of the UK’s ongoing feasibility work.

Rugby: Sixways Stadium

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of proposals submitted to her Department by Bond Group Sixways on resuming rugby at Sixways Stadium.

Stuart Andrew: Throughout the pandemic the Government went above and beyond through the Sport Survival Package (SSP) to provide a range of sports organisations across the country with generous financial support to ensure their survival throughout that difficult period. The Premiership Rugby club, Worcester Warriors, who played at Sixways Stadium were loaned money via the SSP.In September 2022 Begbies Traynor were appointed as Administrators of Worcester Rugby Football Club (WRFC) Trading and Joint Receivers in relation to further companies within the structure of WRFC Trading. As Administrators, Begbies Traynor have a duty to act in the best interests of creditors and so the Department, as one of those creditors, has a limited role in those proceedings. It is for the Administrator to determine the best course of action to deliver on this objective in line with the Insolvency Act 1986 (as amended).

Gambling: Video Games

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to evaluate the (a) implementation and (b) effectiveness efficacy of industry-led measures on loot boxes.

Julia Lopez: Following the Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, the Government has welcomed new industry-led guidance and its potential, if fully implemented, to meet our objectives to improve protections for players.The Government has agreed a 12-month implementation period for the new guidance on loot boxes and has asked the industry, coordinated by Ukie, to report back to DCMS on the extent to which it has been implemented and on steps taken in areas identified for further work.We are working closely with industry and academics to ensure robust data is available to support evaluation of these measures, supported by the Video Games Research Framework which was developed and published by DCMS.We will provide a further update in due course, following the 12-month implementation period and informed by independent academic scrutiny of the implementation and efficacy of these measures.

Sports: Northern Ireland

Claire Hanna: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Communities Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the use of multi-sport grassroot facilities funding in Northern Ireland.

Stuart Andrew: The UK Government has invested £6.99 million in Northern Ireland between 2021-2025 through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme. This funding has supported 71 projects so far which includes £210,000 for Rosario Youth FC’s grass pitch maintenance equipment and Rathmore Grammar’s upgraded artificial pitch and floodlights in Belfast South.As noted in the Government's recent Safeguarding the Union publication, I will shortly be visiting Northern Ireland, where I intend to discuss this crucial work with the new Minister for Communities. We also continue to work closely with the Irish Football Association to ensure that this funding targets the communities which need it most, helping increase participation by under-represented groups, and levelling up the provision for high quality pitches and facilities.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 18 December 2023 and 23 January 2024 from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of a constituent relating to David Hemmings's film Running Scared and the British Archive.

Julia Lopez: A reply was sent on 26 February.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Health and Safety

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to comply with principle (d) of schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

Julia Lopez: The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) designs work and workplaces to adapt to the needs of individuals. Our primary headquarters and hub locations offer flexible and ergonomic work environments, which should accommodate most individuals’ requirements at the standard level. DCMS has a comprehensive framework of guidance and process materials to ensure individuals who may have any additional requirements are fully supported. The department offers flexible working, in line with Hybrid Working guidance and our dedicated Workplace Adjustments team and HR colleagues strive to ensure that staff with additional needs are not disadvantaged and have appropriate workplace adjustments in place.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Water Restoration Fund

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been (a) raised for and (b) spent through the Water Restoration Fund since its implementation.

Robbie Moore: The Government is fully committed to the delivery of the Water Restoration Fund. As set out in the Plan for Water, environmental fines and penalties from water companies will be reinvested into the delivery of projects which improve the water environment. The Fund has yet to launch but further details will follow later this year.

Inland Waterways: Tourism

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to support greater use of canals and waterways for tourism purposes.

Robbie Moore: Our inland waterways are an important national heritage asset delivering a wide range of public benefits. These include environmental ‘green corridors’ along which biodiversity can flourish, physical and mental health improvement, water stewardship, and recreational activities. I agree that they are valuable resources for tourism, providing pleasant active and sustainable travel routes for boating holidays and day trips. Ministers do not have a role in operational maters on inland waterways. However, navigation authorities and local canal societies are able to work with their Local Visitor Economy Partnership or local Destination Management Organisation to develop their tourism offer, including by accessing relevant funding.

Construction: Soil

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled The waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste, updated on 10 August 2023, when he plans to publish a revised Code of Practice for the Sustainable Use of Soil on Construction Sites.

Robbie Moore: We have drafted revised guidance for the sustainable use of soil on construction sites. We are working with a range of industry experts and professionals to ensure the final document meets the requirements of end users, ahead of publication this summer.

Soil: Recycling

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress his Department has made on developing a soil reuse and storage depot scheme.

Robbie Moore: Following the announcement of the Soil Re-Use and Storage Depot Pilot Scheme in the Environmental Improvement Plan, the Environment Agency commissioned a research project to look at soil storage and reuse systems currently in use internationally and to make recommendations as to how such a system might operate here in England. This report will be published by spring 2024 and it will be used to inform the design of the scheme for piloting to begin in 2026.

Batteries: Waste Disposal

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled The waste prevention programme for England: Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste, updated on 10 August 2023, when he plans to consult on revisions to the batteries regulations; and what his timetable is for (a) legislation on and (b) implementation of those revisions.

Robbie Moore: We plan to consult on reforms to the batteries regulations in 2024. Dependent on the outcomes of that consultation, implementation of our proposals, including changes to legislation, would then follow from 2025.

Glass: Deposit Return Schemes

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to include glass in the deposit return scheme.

Robbie Moore: Glass drink bottles will not be captured by the deposit return scheme for drinks containers (DRS) in England and Northern Ireland. Conversations with packaging manufacturers on scope of materials in the DRS have been consistent with the position that was outlined in the Government’s consultation response in January 2023.In England and Northern Ireland, glass drinks bottles will remain in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) as will all other types of glass packaging. pEPR will place recycling targets on producers in relation to glass packaging and require relevant obligated producers to cover the costs of collecting and managing glass packaging arising in household waste. As part of finalising our plans for pEPR, we will be confirming future recycling targets for all packaging materials shortly.

Water Charges: Social Tariffs

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the (a) discount levels and (b) eligibility criteria that water companies must apply to social tariff schemes.

Robbie Moore: All water companies currently have social tariffs in place to support customers who struggle to pay their bill. Existing schemes provided more than £206 million of support to 1,363,839 vulnerable customers across England and Wales in 2022-23. This ensured bill reductions of £151 on average and up to £313 for those struggling the most. The Government does not set the eligibility criteria, nor the level of support provided in these schemes. Statutory guidance requires companies to balance their support for low-income households against the interests of other customers who largely fund social tariffs via cross-subsidies. Therefore, companies must demonstrate that their customer base supports the level of cross-subsidy they apply to fund their social tariff schemes. To ensure the best support to customers, the Government continues to work with the industry to explore options to improve the present social tariff arrangements and welcomes the planned household charging trials in 2024-25 and during the 2025-30 Price Review period.

Flood Control: Finance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the flood and coastal erosion risk management funding (a) has been allocated and (b) is available.

Robbie Moore: We are in the third year of the current six-year £5.2 billion Flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme. The funding can be spent on projects that better protect properties in England as well as the development of future projects. At the end of March 2023, the Environment Agency estimated that approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested with over 200 flood risk schemes completed. Over £800 million will be invested in the current financial year until March 2024 and the remaining money is indicatively allocated to projects until the end of March 2027.

Sewage: Pollution

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with (a) local authorities, (b) water companies and (c) Surfers Against Sewage on the terminology they use when issuing sewage alerts, in the context of potential confusion with storm overflows.

Robbie Moore: The Secretary of State has regular meetings with a wide range of stakeholders. Local authorities use information from the Environment Agency (EA) to issue pollution alerts relating to designated bathing waters in England, and Surfers Against Sewage use information from the EA’s Pollution Risk Forecasting service for bathing waters to inform the alerts they provide, along with information about storm overflow discharges.

Deposit Return Schemes: Drinks

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2024 to Question 10315 on Deposit Return Schemes: Drinks, if he will provide a timeline for the publication of the Statutory Instrument for the proposed deposit return scheme.

Robbie Moore: Defra is working closely with the devolved administrations on the next steps to deliver interoperable schemes that work together across the UK so that there is clarity for businesses and consumers. We are aiming to publish a joint update in due course.

Water Companies: Waste Disposal

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Ofwat on the adequacy of their capacity to investigate breaches of permits by water companies.

Robbie Moore: The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofwat and the Environment Agency to discuss a range of issues associated with regulation including investigations and enforcement. The government is committed to ensuring the regulators have the tools they need to hold water companies to account. Therefore, in May 2023 Ofwat announced that its enforcement capacity would be trebled, following the approval of an £11.3 million funding budget increase from Government. The Government has also boosted funding for the Environment Agency with £2.2 million per year specifically for enforcement activity. On 20 February, we announced that we are significantly increasing our oversight of the water industry. The number of Environment Agency inspections, including unannounced inspections, will rise to 4,000 by the end of March 2025 – a fourfold increase. Our consultation on increasing permit charges for water companies to enable these inspections is underway and due to close shortly. The Government and regulators will continue to work together to hold water companies to account for poor performance.

Water Companies: Prosecutions

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on prosecutions for non-compliance by (a) water and (b) sewerage companies at wastewater treatment works.

Robbie Moore: The Government is clear that water companies will not be allowed to get away with illegal activity. Where breaches are identified, the regulators will not hesitate to take robust enforcement action.Since 2015, the Environment Agency have concluded 59 prosecutions against water and sewerage companies including a record £90 million fine for Southern Water in 2021. Furthermore, the EA can now use new powers to impose unlimited penalties for a wider range of offences following Government’s changes to broaden of the scope of the existing civil sanctions regime and remove the previous cap on penalties. In addition, the Environment Agency and Ofwat have launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water and sewerage companies sewage discharges ever, at over 2200 treatment works, following new data coming to light as a result of increased monitoring.

Sewage: Pollution Control

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of emergency discharges from emergency overflows.

Robbie Moore: Emergency overflows are separate to storm overflows and only operate in urgent circumstances such as electrical power failure and mechanical breakdown. The Environment Agency (EA) will issue permits for emergency overflows only in circumstances where the need to allow for emergency overflows to protect critical infrastructure, people and the environment outweighs the risk of a potentially polluting discharge occurring.All permitted emergency overflows are required to be fitted with alarms which signal when there is a problem with the pumping station. Water companies must notify the EA when they detect a pumping station failure that is likely to cause pollution. When there is a problem, the EA will investigate and take enforcement action where necessary.The EA require water companies to monitor emergency overflows associated with designated shellfish waters as advised by Government. In 2022, emergency overflows in these locations operated at an average rate of 1.5 times per overflow a year, while over 70% did not operate. This monitoring is being extended to all emergency overflows.The water companies are currently planning for the next 5-year investment period 2025 to 2030. As part of this planning the water companies are expected to ensure their maintenance plans minimise the risk of failure of their assets and the impact, they may have on the water environment.

Water Charges

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that additional costs on water bills are used to improve storm overflows.

Robbie Moore: The Government’s Strategic Policy Statement (SPS) for Ofwat which was published in March 2022 makes it clear that protecting and enhancing the nation’s water environment is a priority for this Government. It sets out the Government’s strategic priorities for Ofwat for the next Price Review period. We expect water companies to use the next five-year Price Review period (PR24) to set bold and ambitious plans that deliver for people and the environment. This includes delivering substantial improvements to tackle storm overflows, as well as upgrades to wastewater treatment works and improvements to bathing waters. New infrastructure will need to be paid for, and while water companies can attract private investment, this will also need to come from customer bills. Ofwat is currently scrutinising water company business plans for 2025 to 2030 to ensure plans meet the targets for environmental improvements and other obligations and deliver value for money for customers.

Microplastics: Washing Machines

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with businesses on installing microfibre filters in washing machines.

Robbie Moore: In Defra’s Plan for Water, there is a commitment for industry and businesses to develop low cost, effective microfibre filters in washing machines to capture microfibre and encourage their effective use. This approach is informed by the evidence that shows that there is not a sufficient benefit to the environment for legislating the installation of microfibre-capturing filters in all new washing machines. Recent analyses showed an estimated increased cost from between £30 to £122 for a microfibre filter per machine and user behaviour around disposal of captured microfibres can make render the filters ineffective. We have conveyed this to industry colleagues, and we look forward to receiving a response which will help us to progress the issue.

Flood Re

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with providers of the Flood Re scheme on the potential merits of extending the scheme to cover businesses.

Robbie Moore: The Flood Re scheme allows for insurers to offer discounted premiums to domestic properties. Flood Re is funded via a levy on UK household insurers. Expanding the scope of Flood Re to cover businesses would create a new levy on businesses, and could result in businesses across the country, and indirectly customers, subsidising profit-making organisations located at flood risk. There is no evidence of a systemic problem for businesses at high flood risk not accessing insurance. Businesses in high flood risk areas can shop around for the best insurance quote and could consider using an appropriate broker. There are a number of products being offered to businesses by the industry such as the British Insurers Brokers’ Association (BIBA) Commercial Property scheme to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and provide flood cover for those that are ineligible for Flood Re. We are working with the insurance industry and the wider commercial sector to help businesses become more resilient to flooding through the joint government and industry Property Flood Resilience (PFR) roundtable.

Deposit Return Schemes: Drinks

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with businesses on preparing for the deadline for the implementation of the deposit return scheme.

Robbie Moore: Defra engages stakeholders across industry (including large and small drinks producers, retailers, wholesalers, and the hospitality sector) to ensure we are learning lessons from other schemes (including the Scottish experience and the recently launched scheme in Ireland). This is to support industry as they move towards delivery. We are committed to continuing engagement and working collaboratively with industry to deliver a cost effective, well-functioning scheme.

Business: Floods

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of businesses that are (a) without flood insurance and (b) eligible for business recovery grants.

Robbie Moore: The Government does not collect data on the proportion of businesses that are without flood insurance. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in England are in principle eligible to receive the Department for Business and Trades Business Recovery Grant as long as they: Are located in a geographic area which has reached the threshold to receive support under the Flood Recovery Framework and where the local authority has taken the decision to participate in the Framework; andSatisfy the criteria for receiving a Business Recovery Grant as set out within the Flood Recovery Framework and associated guidance. It is for a local authority to make an assessment on who qualifies for a Business Recovery Grant in the light of all the criteria and circumstances on the ground. If they are in an eligible area and have suffered internal flooding, they should contact their local authority to understand if they can also Defra’s Property Flood Resilience recovery grant, which provides for up to £5,000 to install measure to make eligible properties more resilient to future flooding.

Farming Recovery Fund

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Farming Recovery Fund opened in response to Storm Henk will be available to farmers in (a) Yorkshire, (b) Norfolk and (c) Derbyshire.

Robbie Moore: The Government has triggered the Flood Recovery Framework in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire, to provide funding for affected households and businesses as a result of severe flooding caused by Storm Henk. Farmers in these areas are likely to be eligible for a number of these funds, including the Business Recovery Grant (for up to £2,500 per SME business), the Property Flood Resilience grant (up to £5,000 per flooded property) and Business Rate relief. We are currently assessing the impact of the flooding caused by Storm Henk on farmland to enable us to confirm eligible areas for the Farming Recovery Fund. Eligible areas will be within the same areas announced for the wider Flood Recovery Framework, which does not currently include areas in Yorkshire, Norfolk and Derbyshire. We are monitoring the situation closely and further guidance on support for farmers affected by the flooding will be published on gov.uk in early March.

Rural Areas: Mental Health Services

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Fourth Report of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee of Session 2022-23 on Rural Mental Health, HC248, published on 9 May 2023, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations in the section entitled Rural mental health service provision, policy and strategy development.

Robbie Moore: We remain committed to supporting thriving rural communities, as set out in our report Unleashing Rural Opportunity, published in June 2023. Since the launch of the EFRA Committee’s inquiry in 2021, considerable progress has been made to help ensure access to mental health services in rural areas. The Government published its Response to the EFRA Committee Report on Rural Mental Health in October 2023.  The response recognised that people living and working in rural areas may face specific challenges in accessing the mental health services that they need and set out the various actions being taken forward to address mental health needs. Key actions include: Publication of the Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028 in September 2023, which set out ambitions over the next five years to reduce suicide rates, improve support for people who have self-harmed, and improve support for people bereaved by suicide. The strategy also identifies actions to tackle known risk factors, several of which are relevant for agricultural and veterinary workers, including financial difficulty and economic adversity, and social isolation and loneliness, while also embedding multiple actions to tackle emerging means of suicide. The launch of the Department for Health and Social Care’s £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund in August 2023. This was to support the suicide prevention voluntary, charity and social enterprise sector to deliver activity that helps meet the increased demand for support, and to embed preventive activity that can help to prevent suicides and stem the flow into crisis services. A list of organisations that have been awarded funding will be published soon. As committed to in the NHS Long Term Plan, published in 2019, we are continuing work to improve and widen access to care for children and adults needing mental health support. Over the 12 months to December 2023, 750,000 children and young people aged under 18 were supported through NHS-funded mental health services (with at least one contact) - a 31% increase since March 2021. Additionally, we are ahead of schedule on rolling out Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges. We achieved our original ambition of covering 25% of pupils in England a year earlier than planned and we expect this to increase to 4.2 million pupils, or 44% of the pupil population, by March 2024. We have plans to go further, extending coverage to at least 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025. To help improve the service and support on offer to farmers we will make up to £500,000 available to deliver projects that support mental health in the farming sector. This will build on the support already on offer through the Farming Resilience Fund, which has benefitted over 19,000 farmers to date.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Renewable Energy: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had discussions with Northern Ireland Community Energy on promoting government incentives to community groups.

Graham Stuart: As community energy is a mainly transferred issue, it is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive to engage with the community energy sector in Northern Ireland. There is, however, some UK-wide support available to community energy groups – for example, the devolved administrations have access to UK-wide Growth Funding, such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and we encourage community energy groups to work closely with local government to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.

Fuel Poverty: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that disabled people with higher energy usage are not in fuel poverty.

Amanda Solloway: The Government is providing £104 billion, including the Disability Cost of Living Payment, to support households with the cost of living. The government also expanded the Warm Home Discount, which we estimated would support 160,000 more households where a person has a disability or long-term illness. This has helped prevent a significant rise in fuel poverty, including for households living with disabilities. We see energy efficiency improvements as the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term. Disabled people living in low-income households may be eligible for support through schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation. The review of the Fuel Poverty Strategy will assess the vulnerability principle and whether any amendments are needed, including for households where an occupant has a disability.

Offshore Industry and Renewable Energy: Recruitment

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to encourage private investment in the (a) offshore oil and gas and (b) renewables sectors, in the context of private investment in the recruitment and development of personnel in those sectors.

Graham Stuart: Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets. Drawing on work by the Government convened Green Jobs Delivery Group, this will be published in the first half of 2024. To support ongoing investment and protect the 200,000 jobs supported by the offshore oil and gas sector, Government has introduced the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. Work is ongoing to enable workers to move between sectors, to protect jobs and to ensure skills, which are vital for the transition, are not lost.

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the extent of regulatory support for potential nuclear power developments at Moorside.

Andrew Bowie: There is currently no project at Moorside, but any new developer will need to meet the requirements of our independent regulators. The Government’s Nuclear Roadmap has set out plans to streamline future nuclear development to make Britian the best place in the world to invest in nuclear. We believe the existing EN-6 sites, such as Moorside, are likely to retain inherent positive attributes that make them suitable for consideration for development.

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many developers have expressed an interest in the development of new nuclear power at Moorside since its selection as a site for new nuclear power generation in 2009.

Andrew Bowie: Moorside is a candidate for new nuclear and one of a number of potential sites that could host civil nuclear projects. The specific number of enquiries is currently not known, since the NDA, as owners of the Moorside site and other land, continue to engage any new nuclear vendor who has enquiries about their land.

Refineries: Grangemouth

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has received representations from the Scottish Government on the future of Grangemouth refinery.

Andrew Bowie: DESNZ Ministers have met directly with Scottish Government and remain in contact regarding Grangemouth refinery. UK Government Ministers have attended the Grangemouth Future Industries Leadership Forum in which the future of the site was discussed with Scottish Ministers. The Department continues to work closely and regularly with officials in the Scottish Government as well as the owners of Grangemouth on the future of the site.

Carbon Emissions: Local Government

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with local authorities on the provision of utilities for areas with multiple large net zero projects planned.

Graham Stuart: The Government works with local authorities through the Local Net Zero Forum, which brings together national and local government on a regular basis to discuss policy and delivery options on net zero; this provides a way for local government to raise issues they wish to discuss.

Carbon Emissions: Government Departments

Mr Barry Sheerman: Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to monitor the effectiveness of the work undertaken by each department on helping to achieve the Government's net zero targets.

Graham Stuart: Delivering net zero is a cross-government effort as evidenced by publication of strategies such as the Carbon Budgets Delivery Plan. Ministers and officials in the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero regularly meet with counterparts across Government to coordinate action and manage risks. The Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Committee ensures a coordinated approach to delivering net zero across Government. The sector specific commitments in the Net Zero Growth Plan also help to drive accountability for achieving net zero.

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has had recent discussions with (a) Sellafield Ltd and (b) the Nuclear Development Authority on its plans for nuclear power developments at Moorside.

Andrew Bowie: Moorside is a candidate for new nuclear and one of a number of potential sites that could host civil nuclear projects. Whilst Great British Nuclear is working with government to support access to potential sites, no decisions have been made at present. In the case of Moorside, it would be natural for the site’s location adjacent to Sellafield to be factored into any decision.

Offshore Industry: Skilled Workers

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support effective collaboration between (a) employers and (b) education providers to help ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled (i) electrical maintenance, (ii) pipefitting and (iii) other workers in the oil and gas sector.

Graham Stuart: Government and industry are working collaboratively to train the existing workforce in England through programmes including Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Government is working with trade associations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board to encourage career pathways across the energy sector, including in offshore oil and gas. The Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan for publication in the first half of 2024, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will extend the Warm Home Discount to disabled households.

Amanda Solloway: I refer my Hon Friend to the answers I gave to him on 18 January 2024 to Question UIN 9113 and on 8 February 2024 to Question UIN 12381.

Energy: Disability

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the introduction of (a) an energy social tariff and (b) targeted energy bill support for disabled people.

Amanda Solloway: My Rt. Hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have regular discussions on a range of issues. A social tariff is about protecting vulnerable people and that’s exactly what we are doing by providing significant financial support for those who need it most as part of a package of support that will total over £104 billion, or £3,700 per household on average, over 2022-2025. Millions of vulnerable households will receive up to £900 in further cost of living payments, with an extra £150 to those on eligible disability payments. This is in addition to the established support of the Winter Fuel Payment worth between £250-£600 and the £150 off energy bills from the Warm Home Discount.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Vacancies

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

David T C Davies: There are currently no vacant digital posts in the Wales Office.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Vacancies

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Mr Alister Jack: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not currently have any digital vacancies.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Vacancies

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Mr Steve Baker: The Northern Ireland Office communications team is made up of nine employees. There are no vacant digital posts.